Policy & resilience · October 13, 2026
MI5 elevates protective resilience to a core mission
Published October 13, 2026 · Source announcement: October 13, 2026
The announced change
In his annual threat update, MI5 Director General Sir Ken McCallum said the service has elevated its protective work into a third core mission, called Protect, alongside counterterrorism and countering state threats.
He described its purpose as strengthening national resilience so the UK can continue functioning when security incidents occur. The speech organizes that effort around infrastructure and essential services, social cohesion and technology.
Why it matters
The announcement highlights prevention and continuity as part of national security, beyond identifying suspects or disrupting individual plots. McCallum pointed to the National Protective Security Authority and National Cyber Security Centre as partners providing protective advice.
This follows yesterday’s separate Home Office announcement of a protective security review. The review and MI5’s mission structure are related in subject matter but are distinct initiatives.
Limits of the announcement
This is MI5’s public account of its priorities, not an independent evaluation of their effectiveness. The speech does not demonstrate that the new mission has already reduced risk or prevented a specific incident.
Original source
MI5 annual threat update, October 13, 2026. The full speech covers additional state and terrorism threats.