Leaked Emails Reveal MI5 Lobbying Behind IRGC Terror Ban in UK

Leaked communications reveal unprecedented influence of Britain’s domestic intelligence agency over government policy, including the proscription of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization.

LONDON — Newly obtained correspondence reviewed by The Grayzone indicates senior officials at MI5, Britain’s domestic security service, played a direct role in shaping government decisions to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist entity and to adopt the sweeping National Security Act.

The leaked emails, exchanged among MI5’s current Director General Ken McCallum and former Director General Baroness Eliza Manningham-Buller, show the two spymasters coordinated behind closed doors with senior Labour Party figures—including Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper and then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer—to push for policies expanding state surveillance and restricting civil liberties.

The revelations raise questions about the extent of intelligence influence over British policymaking, particularly regarding contentious national security measures that critics argue target domestic dissent rather than genuine foreign threats.

On July 13, 2024, the Starmer government formally designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization, a move critics say was driven less by operational necessity and more by political convenience. The decision followed months of private lobbying by MI5, with McCallum acknowledging in internal correspondence that the “direct operational benefit” of such a ban was likely “modest.” He nonetheless argued it was “sensible to contemplate” extending such powers, including to other state-aligned groups like Russia’s Wagner Group.

The emails suggest MI5 viewed the Labour Party as a willing partner in expanding its authority. In one exchange from early 2023, former Cabinet Secretary Gus O’Donnell wrote to Manningham-Buller, expressing concern that Starmer’s team was too focused on electoral strategy and needed to better understand Whitehall’s machinery. He asked whether she might “nudge” Labour toward engaging with intelligence officials.

McCallum responded that he had already made the same suggestion to Cooper, adding that “there might be some value” in O’Donnell encouraging Labour to approach either the current or former MI5 leadership. The correspondence reveals a coordinated effort among veteran spymasters to embed MI5 influence within a potential future government.

Cooper, who later became Home Secretary, was a key interlocutor in these discussions. In July 2023, Manningham-Buller asked McCallum for guidance ahead of a meeting with Cooper, inquiring: “Any steer for [Yvette Cooper] on Thursday?” McCallum reported that the conversation had gone well, with Cooper expressing particular interest in the IRGC proscription, despite his admission that its operational value was limited.

The emails also reveal MI5’s role in shaping the controversial National Security Act, which became law in April 2024. McCallum credited Manningham-Buller with helping secure its passage, calling it a critical tool to prevent “WikiLeaks-type” disclosures of state misconduct. The law introduces severe penalties—up to 14 years in prison—for publishing leaked documents or even Iranian casualty figures, framing such acts as “terrorism.”

Critics argue the legislation and the IRGC designation reflect a broader pattern of intelligence overreach, with domestic surveillance and speech restrictions justified under the banner of national security. The content of the leaked emails, while not independently verified by this publication, aligns with broader concerns about the unchecked influence of security agencies in British politics.

What remains unclear is the full extent of intelligence involvement in shaping these policies—and whether future governments will continue to rely so heavily on the counsel of their spymasters.