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UK at higher risk of lone wolf attacks from Iranian sympathisers due to Israel-Iran conflict, says former MI6 Head
15 June 2025, 14:42
The UK is at higher risk of lone wolf attacks from Iranian sympathisers due to the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel, the former head of MI6, Sir Richard Dearlove, has warned.
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Sir Richard told LBC's Sunday with Lewis Goodall we are "of course" at greater risk of domestic terrorism due to unrest in the Middle East.
He told Lewis there is an increased risk of "radicalised individuals".
He said: "I think the bigger risk immediately is lone wolf incidents, which can be pretty awful. And that was a situation I think existed already in relation to Gaza.
"Bigger terrorist conspiracy...I think we are relatively well equipped and well placed to stop those, they take time to plan, they take time to put together, the intelligence opportunities to penetrate them are easier.
"But catching lone wolves sitting alone who suddenly want to go out on their own and do something dreadful, that's much more difficult".
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Sir Richard spoke to LBC just after The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office updated travel advice to advise “against all travel to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories”.
He told Lewis he thinks the guidance is "sensible advice because clearly the Iranian attack on Israel is pretty indiscriminate".
He added: "They're hitting urban areas rather than specific military targets. So it's a common sense advice in the current climate".
The FCDO website warns that “travel insurance could be invalidated” if people travel against the advice, and described the current status as a “fast-moving situation that poses significant risks”.
Israel and Iran continued to exchange fire overnight and today, after Sir Keir Starmer said that the UK was sending more RAF jets to the region amid the increasing hostilities.
Sir Richard said he thinks this is a "crisis which has been a very long time coming".
He added: "It's an opportunity for the West to remove the nuclear programme in Iran. This has been a problem which has been bubbling on for longer than 20 years.
"Back when I was still in office, we were worrying about the transfer of nuclear technology from Pakistan to Iran. We were worrying about Iran refining uranium to levels which would allow them to make fissile material for a nuclear weapon.
"So it's a crisis which was inevitable. It's reached its head and it's in the West's interests that Iran should be without a nuclear programme".
