Foiled Isil murder plot shows why spies need legal right to break law, says Home Office

An Islamist plot to assassinate Theresa May could not have been foiled without undercover agents breaking the law, says the Home Office, as it unveiled a new law to protect spies.

Undercover MI5 and counter-terrorism officers from the Metropolitan Police infiltrated Isil to trap Naa’imur Zakariyah Rahman, 21, who planned to bomb the gates of 10 Downing Street, killl guards and then attack the then Prime Minister with a knife or gun.

He was arrested after going to collect an explosives-packed jacket and rucksack from an Isil handler when in fact he was talking to undercover officers.

It is one of series of undercover operations revealed yesterday by the Home Office to illustrate the need for the new law which will allow undercover operatives and agents to participate in crimes to tackle terrorism and serious crime, as revealed yesterday in The Daily Telegraph.

Ken McCallum, the director general of MI5, said: “In some situations, it is both necessary and proportionate to authorise agents to be involved in some managed level of criminal activity, in order to win or maintain the trust of those intent on harming the UK and gain the critical information needed to save lives.

“This power, carefully used and independently overseen, is vital so we can continue to meet our duty to keep the public safe.”

The proposed new law does not specify what crimes are covered but they have to be “proportionate and necessary” and comply with the European convention on human rights, which bars torture and provide a right to life.

This avoids creating a “checklist” that criminals could use to test a suspected undercover agent in order to try to flush them out.

Other examples cited by the Home Office include a woman who recruited someone she believed to be a contract killer to murder her husband but who was in fact an undercover agent. His evidence led to her being jailed for six years at the Old Bailey.

In another case, an undercover agent infiltrated a paedophile network which culminated in the arrest of a man who planned to pay to rape a five year old boy and six year old girl. Further evidence of his offending from his seized computer led to him receiving a eight year jail sentence.

Undercover officers from 14 agencies will be covered by the new law including the intelligence agencies, police, National Crime Agency, immigration and borders, the armed forces, Serious Fraud Office, Gambling Commission, HMRC, prison service and Environment Agency.

The medicines and healthcare products regulatory agency (MHRA), which is also covered, set up fake organisation to buy drugs on the “black market” in a four-month operation to expose a gang illegally dealing in prescription medicines.

It was a criminal offence but the undercover operation led to seven arrests and the seizure of 4.2 million doses of illegally-obtained medicines destined for sale to the public.

“These powers clarify and strengthen our ability to uncover links to serious organised crime, when deemed necessary and proportionate,” said June Raine, MHRA chief executive.

James Brokenshire, the security minister, said: “We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the men and women who put themselves in often dangerous situations in order to protect our national security and keep the public safe.

“In the course of this vital work, it may be necessary for agents to participate in criminal activity in order to gain the trust of those under investigation.

“This is a critical capability and is subject to robust, independent oversight. It is important that those with a responsibility to protect the public can continue this work, knowing that they are on a sound legal footing.”

The move follows a longstanding battle over the legality of the guidelines used by the Security Service to permit covert sources to break the law while conducting operations. A coalition of human rights group is currently appealing a court ruling that narrowly authorised such activity.

The new law - which effectively neutralises the court challenge - will be overseen by the investigatory powers commissioner Sir Brian Leveson.