Ken McCallum

McCallum was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1974. He attended a state school, after which he studied mathematics at the University of Glasgow, graduating with a first-class honours degree in 1996.{{Cite web|title=The following are expected to graduate today from Glasgow University|url=https://www.HeraldScotland.com/news/12032415.university-of-glasgow/|website=www.HeraldScotland.com|publisher=Glasgow Herald|date=9 July 1996|access-date=31 March 2020}}{{Cite web|title=New Director General of MI5 appointed.|url=https://www.MI5.gov.uk/news/new-director-general-of-mi5-appointed|website=www.MI5.gov.uk|publisher=MI5|access-date=30 March 2020}}

McCallum has been an intelligence officer at MI5 for over two decades, including service focused on Northern Ireland-related terrorism and leading counter-terrorism investigations during the London 2012 Olympic Games. He was appointed Deputy Director General of MI5 in April 2017.

He said of his early career: "I spent my twenties mostly trying to recruit terrorists inside terrorist organisations to work as secret agents [to keep] the rest of us safe."{{Cite web|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/i-was-a-bore-at-barbecues-nobody-could-know-i-was-a-spy-xxflk2gl8|title=Spymaster’s top job was kept a secret — even from his children|first=Aubrey |last=Allegretti|date=6 December 2024|website=www.thetimes.com}}

In 2018, McCallum took charge of the MI5 response to the attempted assassination of Sergei Skripal.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/new-mi5-chief-will-be-state-school-scot-who-ran-skripal-investigation-gfj3vrww6|title=New MI5 chief will be state‑school Scot who ran Skripal investigation|website=The Times|date=30 March 2020|access-date=1 April 2020}}

In April 2020, McCallum succeeded Sir Andrew Parker as Director General of MI5.{{Cite web|title=Appointment of the new Director General of the Security Service|url=https://www.GOV.uk/government/news/appointment-of-the-new-director-general-of-the-security-service--2|website=www.GOV.uk|publisher=GOV.uk|access-date=30 March 2020}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.BBC.co.uk/news/uk-52094782|title=Ken McCallum appointed new MI5 boss|website=www.BBC.co.uk|publisher=BBC News|date=30 March 2020|access-date=12 April 2020}}

In 2021, McCallum said in his annual threat update that the activities of China, Russia, and other hostile states could have as large an impact on the public as terrorism, marking a significant shift in emphasis for the UK’s domestic spy agency. McCallum said that the British public will have to “build the same public awareness and resilience to state threats that we have done over the years on terrorism”.{{Cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/jul/14/public-should-be-alert-to-threat-from-china-and-russia-says-mi5-chief|title=Threat to UK from hostile states could be as bad as terrorism, says MI5 chief|date=14 July 2021|website=the Guardian}}

At a joint press conference with Christopher A. Wray in July 2022, McCallum said that MI5 had "more than doubled" its effort against Chinese activity over the same timeframe as part of an unprecedented joint warning with his counterpart at the FBI. He added the "most game-changing challenge" MI5 faced came from an "increasingly authoritarian Chinese Communist party".{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jul/06/50-chinese-students-leave-uk-in-three-years-after-spy-chiefs-warning |title=50 Chinese students leave UK in three years after spy chiefs' warning|date=6 July 2022|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=7 July 2022}}

In November 2022, McCallum said there had been at least 10 potential threats by Iran to kidnap or kill British or UK-based people in 2022. McCallum also warned that the UK "must be ready for Russian aggression for years to come".{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-63647366|title=Iran organised 10 kidnap and death plots, MI5 says|newspaper=BBC|date=16 November 2022|access-date=19 November 2022}}

In 2023, he noted the increased risks to the UK during the Israel-Gaza war. "One of the things that concerns me most right now, is to understand quite what the shape of the UK impact will be," McCallum said in an interview. He also warned there was a risk that events in the Middle East could radicalise people towards violence.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-67137323|title=MI5 fears Israel-Gaza war could fuel radicalisation|date=17 October 2023|via=www.bbc.co.uk}}

In a 2024 speech, he stated that Russia's intelligence agency has been on a mission to generate "mayhem on British and European streets". He warned the UK faces the most "complex and interconnected" threat it has ever seen. He added there had been 20 Iran-backed plots since 2022.{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp8e15yr1gwo |title=Russia on mission to cause mayhem on UK streets, warns MI5|newspaper=BBC News|date=8 October 2024|access-date=8 October 2024}}

In a December 2024 podcast interview with Simon Case, McCallum stated that MI5 has had to "pare back" its counter-terrorism focus due to the growing threat from Russia and other hostile states. Highlighting finite resources, he stated, "we had the 20- to 30-year holiday from that kind of big player, sophisticated states in serious conflict with each other. It’s back, I’m afraid".{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2024/dec/06/mi5-forced-to-pare-back-on-counter-terrorism-work-due-to-hostile-states-says-agency-chief|title=MI5 forced to ‘pare back’ counter-terrorism work due to rogue states, says chief|date=6 December 2024|via=The Guardian}} In the same podcast, McCallum spoke about the adjustment needed as the public head of MI5, “Having spent all of my career being the world’s most boring neighbour at barbecues, on the street, and being as deflective and uninteresting as you can possibly be, [it is] quite odd to then be on the telly. Even some members of my own extended family were completely shocked,” he says.

McCallum was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 2025 New Year Honours.{{London Gazette| issue = 64607| date = 30 December 2024| page = N2| supp = y}}

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Category:1974 births

Category:Living people

Category:Civil servants from Glasgow

Category:21st-century Scottish civil servants

Category:Alumni of the University of Glasgow

Category:Scottish spies

Category:Directors general of MI5

Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath