to the Intelligence and Security Committee on 29 February 2016. At the Review
team’s meeting with MI6, the team was given further details of seven of the MI6
case studies. Cathryn McGahey QC returned for a second visit to examine
contemporaneous documents relating to those case studies, and to be given a
demonstration of analysis using BPDs. I had been given a similar demonstration
when preparing A Question of Trust.
8.11.
MI5 gave the Review team a further ten summaries, six of which had featured in
the Operational Case.
8.12.
Annex 11 summarises the seven MI6 case studies that the Review team
examined in detail, and a sample of the ten MI5 cases.
8.13.
The case studies demonstrated the use of BPDs as a swift and efficient method
of identifying potential MI6 agents (A11/1,4), hostile state actors (A11/2-3), and
potential terrorists (A11/5-15). Some demonstrated clearly the utility of BPDs in
reducing a very large pool of potential candidates to a manageable number. For
example, in A11/8, MI5 was able to identify an individual from a pool of some
27,000, and to take steps to disrupt that person’s extremist activities.
8.14.
BPDs have been used both to identify individuals of interest and to eliminate
from an investigation those who are not of interest. A11/11 involved the use of
BPDs both to identify some persons suspected of posing a potential threat to the
London Olympics and to exclude others from suspicion. BPDs enabled MI5
swiftly to identify, from among a large number of individuals working for the
Olympics, those who should be prioritised for investigation. There was a clear
need for such work to be carried out at speed.
Alternative methods
8.15.
MI6, a principal user of BPDs, does not assert that it could not carry out its work
without them. Managers explained to the Review team that MI6 has recruited
agents for many years, and would always find ways to do so. However,
managers firmly believed that, without BPDs, MI6’s work would be less efficient,
and carry greater risk, and that opportunities would be missed. The pace at
which the SIAs were now required to work, particularly in the field of counterterrorism, was substantially greater than it had been in the past.
8.16.
When seeking to recruit an agent, with only partial information about his identity,
the use of BPDs may enable MI6 to identify the relevant person speedily,
economically and safely. The obvious alternative, of sending an existing agent to
confirm an identity, may take weeks and put that agent at risk. Such a course is
also far more resource-intensive than the use of BPDs.
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