Sabotage-for-hire: ‘Iranian agent’ offers to pay undercover LBC reporter for criminal acts on London’s streets

Counter terrorism cops have warned against people getting drawn into recruitment attempts following a spate of arson attacks on Jewish premises, saying: “You’re going to prison if you do that”.

The Prime Minister on Thursday said he was “increasingly concerned” about countries using proxies for criminal activity in the UK as he visited a London synagogue which had been targeted.

Just hours into our investigation, our LBC reporter was set a task to complete on the streets of London, seen by experts to have been the first in a “potentially dangerous relationship” being sought.

While speaking to a user on Telegram, who claimed to be linked to Iran’s Intelligence Service, the account told us to “print out a photo of Trump and Netanyahu, set it on fire in one of London’s famous streets, and send a video of it.”

They added in a separate message: “This is the first step in building trust, and I will pay for it.”

When asked what would happen afterwards, the user said: “After you send me the video, I will make the payment and title the second job.”

LBC has reported the account to counter terrorism police and made the full exchange of messages available to investigators.

The UK’s independent reviewer of state threats legislation told LBC the tasking had all the hallmarks of a previous Russian-ordered arson attack on a warehouse in London, providing aid to Ukraine.

Jonathan Hall KC said: “The lead defendant in that case was called Dylan Earl and the message that you've shown me, the exchange, has quite a few similarities. 

“It looks straight from that sort of recruitment playbook where the individual is being asked to do something that you might think is fairly minor and trivial: burning a picture of a political leader on the streets.

“But presumably once you’ve done that and proved yourself, this is just the beginning.

“They’re testing out someone who's said that they're willing to help and it could end with any number of tasks. The speculation would be that you’d then be asked to do something which could include arson.”

The exchange stemmed from a Telegram channel which was advertising “high-paid” work, while claiming to recruit on behalf of Iran’s intelligence service.

The account offered to enlist agents in what it describes as a “completely secure and professional environment with 24/7 monitoring and support”. In one post, written in both English and Hebrew, the channel states: “Iran's intelligence service is recruiting high-paid agents… If you are ready to take the next step, hit the start button and cooperate with us.”

After our reporter hit the start button, a suspected agent began the chat with a GIF of a waving cat, to which we replied ‘hello’.

Here’s how the conversation followed over a matter of hours:

Agent: What are your abilities? You have contacted the Iranian robot.

Reporter: What are you looking for? I’m based in London, UK.

Agent: Are you Iranian?

Reporter: I’m British, in London.

Agent: How old are you?

Reporter: I’m 28

Agent: Print out a photo of Trump and Netanyahu, set it on fire in one of London’s famous streets, and send a video of it.

Agent: This is the first step in building trust, and I will pay for it.

Reporter: Okay, understood. How much and how would you pay?

Agent: The cryptocurrency is currently $5.

Reporter: What happens after that once I’ve completed?

Agent: After you send me the video, I will make the payment and title the second job.

A security source specialising in Iranian external operations told LBC the model reflects a wider shift towards outsourcing attacks to loosely connected individuals.

They said: “This is a consolidation more than emergence. Iranian intelligence services and Russia’s Wagner Group have both operated in this manner before, contracting terrorism and espionage to financially motivated individuals with no formal ties.”

The source added that such activity is “increasingly common” across the UK and Europe.

Stephen Silverman, Director of Investigations and Enforcement at Campaign Against Antisemitism, told LBC: “It's quite something now to see it in black and white. 

“If anyone ever doubted it, it's incontrovertible proof that this country is being subverted by foreign influence.”

He added: “Antisemitism is a major disruptor of society and societal norms and the people behind this know that.

“And by getting this to take root and getting people to act on it and spread fear and alarm, they are working to undermine our everyday lives. It's potentially lethal and it has to be stopped.”

Those targeted for recruitment are typically driven by financial need rather than ideology, the security source said, with previous cases involving individuals from criminal networks or economically marginalised communities.

Matt Jukes, the deputy commissioner of the Met Police, has warned that proxies being asked to act on behalf of Iran are easily expendable, and will be dropped by their handlers as soon as police get involved.

Speaking to LBC’s Nick Ferrari earlier this week, he said: "It's a mug's game. You're going to prison if you do that. 

“We are going to catch you because London, this fantastic city, is on the lookout for you.” Emma Schubart, a research fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, said the activity fits a growing pattern of “outsourced” hostile-state operations.

She said: “This approach is cheap, scalable and deniable, allowing states to intimidate targets and test security responses without direct attribution. 

“These actors often sit in the grey area between ordinary criminality and national security threats, which makes detection and disruption far harder.”

On Thursday, the Prime Minister pledged to bring forward legislation on the use of proxies “as quickly as possible”.

While visiting the Kenton United Synagogue in Harrow, north-west London, which was attacked by arsonists on Saturday, Sir Keir Starmer said he’d also take steps to tackle antisemitism.

He said: “I want this country to be a place where everybody feels safe and secure.

“This is not just a battle for the Jewish community. It is our battle.

“The Britain that I want is a Britain where people can practice their religion, their faith, in safety and security, and we must stand with and alongside our Jewish community here.

“That’s amongst the reasons I wanted to come here personally myself to hear firsthand from the people affected by the attack this weekend.”

A government spokesperson said: “We take the safety of the public incredibly seriously and investigate all allegations of threat thoroughly.

“We are clear-eyed about the threats posed by Iran, and our first priority is protecting British interests and British lives both in the UK and overseas.

"We have introduced a comprehensive set of additional measures aimed at countering threats posed by the Iranian regime.”