MI5 will not face contempt proceedings over false evidence, BBC reports

Three senior judges decided that a contempt case would be too complex for the court to manage and therefore not in the public interest, the BBC reports. They said police had the investigative powers and resources to handle the matter. Individual officers could potentially be investigated for misconduct in public office, the BBC said.

The case centres on an informant known as Agent X. A BBC investigation reported that he had used his role to abuse a girlfriend. The woman, known as Beth, brought a claim alleging that MI5 had failed to protect her.

MI5 told the High Court in 2022 that it had neither confirmed nor denied to BBC journalist Daniel De Simone that X was an informant. In fact, an MI5 officer had told him in 2020. The false evidence was also relied on in a separate High Court case and in Beth’s case before the Investigatory Powers Tribunal.

The discrepancy emerged after De Simone produced notes and recordings of his conversations with the officer. In 2025, the Divisional Court found that the evidence had misled the courts and the tribunal. MI5 apologised.

An investigation led by Sir John Goldring concluded in July 2026 that the officer, identified as Officer 2, had fabricated an account that formed the foundation of MI5’s false version of events. The officer said he could not remember disclosing X’s status; Goldring rejected that explanation. Earlier MI5 investigations had concluded there was no deliberate attempt to mislead, but the court said those investigations had serious procedural deficiencies.