Britain’s domestic intelligence service MI5, which is like Nigeria’s Department of State Services, DSS, can authorise its agents to engage in criminal activities, potentially including murder, kidnap and torture, a London court has ruled.
Judges on the Investigatory Powers Tribunal declared in a majority decision that MI5 has the power to permit informants to operate in criminal groups, even if the policy itself confers no legal immunity.
Four human rights groups had argued that it was against British law and the European Convention on Human Rights for MI5 to permit agents, those who are informants or provide intelligence but do not work directly for the government, to commit crimes including murder and torture.
In its submissions, the government said it would be impossible for MI5 to operate, gather intelligence and prevent terrorist attacks without using agents and it was necessary for agents to be allowed to be involved in criminality – though that did not give them immunity from prosecution, it said.
