Spy work

 

British spies are struggling during the coronavirus pandemic because empty streets make it harder to tail suspects

British spies are struggling during the coronavirus pandemic because empty streets make it harder to tail suspects, the head of the UK's domestic security service has revealed.

"Common sense will tell you that covert surveillance is not straightforward on near-empty streets," Ken McCallum, who became head of MI5 earlier this year, said in the briefing on Tuesday.

He warned that the lack of large crowds since the start of the pandemic also means that terrorists have fewer opportunities to carry out attacks, but said that the change meant there was a greater risk they would carry out biological, chemical, or radiological attacks as an alternative in the future, according to a Times report of the briefing.

In further comments reported by the Times, McCallum said that MI5 was using technology including artificial intelligence to comb through mountains of data on the phones and computers of suspected terrorists, searching for images such as the Islamic state flag.