The United Kingdom’s domestic intelligence agency, MI5 has rendered an apology to a woman who alleged she was attacked and abused by one of its agents.
The victim, known as Beth was in an affair with a man who used his rank as an MI5 agent to inflict abuse and intimidate her into silence
Following her complaints to the investigatory Powers Tribunal, the agency has made a public apology and compensated her.
MI5’s director general, Sir Ken McCallum, in a statement wrote: “We sincerely apologise to Beth for the distress she has suffered because of MI5 mistakes in this litigation.
“We relied on incorrect evidence and our record keeping fell well short of the standard of professionalism that we expect, and to which Beth was entitled. We profoundly regret that our mistakes prolonged the litigation and caused additional suffering for Beth.
He added: “MI5 has settled Beth’s claim and we have apologised to Beth directly. Prompted in part by Beth’s case, MI5 has embarked on a programme of work to reinforce the highest standards of record keeping and information management.”
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Meanwhile, Beth in response to the MI5: “I am grateful for the compensation I’ve received, but it can never do anything to repair what I went through at the hands of [agent] X. I’d pay that money so as not to have to experience even a minute of what I had to experience of the worst of his abuse.
“Unfortunately I feel very strongly that, in spite of this apology, MI5 are still protecting this violent misogynistic predator as for years now they have refused to answer any questions about him.”
Also, Kate Ellis, of the Centre for Women’s Justice, who acted for Beth, stated: “A full hearing of Beth’s allegations would, in my view, have been highly embarrassing for MI5, who have already been heavily criticised for misleading the courts.
“Recruiting someone as an agent for our national security services affords them a degree of status and protection. We have always maintained that MI5 did not adequately assess the risks of giving that status to someone with X’s history and his disturbing attitudes to women.
“Given all we have learned from this case, and the shocking evidence that is still coming out of the undercover policing inquiry, I hope that the state will reconsider using women as a collateral in covert operations.”
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