A former KGB double agent can take legal action against the National Crime Agency (NCA) after accusing it of wrongly disclosing his new identity, the High Court has ruled.
Boris Karpichkov - his former name - alleges he received death threats after his new name and address were given to the Latvian authorities by the UK’s law enforcement agency.
The ex-KGB major maintains he is a “dead man walking”, claiming the Russian state gained knowledge of his new identity and that threats written in Russian were sent to his home.
In a High Court judgment on Friday, Master Victoria McCloud ruled against the NCA’s bid to strike out the claim or request a summary judgment, and said Mr Karpichkov’s case, subject to any appeal, can proceed.
Mr Karpichkov - whose current name cannot be made public and did not appear in the ruling - is claiming damages for breaches under the Data Protection Act 2018 and for misuse of his private information.
He worked for the Russian security services for many years and within the Latvian security services before moving to the UK in 1998 as an asylum seeker with his family, eventually being granted British citizenship and a new identity.
The ruling showed that in a previous British court hearing he was found to be in a “unique position to confirm past collaboration by high-ranking Latvian officials with the KGB”.
He was also “likely to be considered a threat to the Russian intelligence services by virtue of his work as a double agent for the Latvian LSP and against Russian state interests and by his on-going outspoken criticism of Russia... (his) life has been at risk since these allegations were first brought.”
Mr Karpichkov alleges that in 2006-7, before the disclosures in the case, he may have also been the victim of a possible chemical or biological attempt on his life.
Latvia attempted to extradite him from the UK, but the High Court quashed a decision agreeing to this, ruling his life would be in danger from “underworld/rogue government elements if he were returned or extradited”.
In 2018 amid a second extradition attempt, the NCA gave the Latvian authorities Mr Karpichkov’s new identity, after which he alleges he began to receive anonymous threats, and in 2019 they received his address, the judgment said.
The NCA argues it had to disclose Mr Karpichkov’s new name and address, which happened pre-Brexit, due to laws governing exchange of information between EU states relating to criminal suspects.
In dismissing the NCA’s application, Master McCloud said it was arguable that the NCA should have considered whether the disclosures were truly required by law after taking into account Human Rights and EU Charter provisions.
Rishi Sunak has announced the establishment of a UK AI safety institute but has declined to support a moratorium on advanced development of the technology.
The prime minister said the institute would be a world first and would test new types of AI for a range of risks from generating misinformation to posing an existential threat.
Announcing the move before next week’s global summit on AI safety at Bletchley Park, Sunak said the institute would “advance the world’s knowledge of AI safety”.
“It will carefully examine, evaluate and test new types of AI so that we understand what each new model is capable of,” he said in a speech at the Royal Society, an association of leading scientists.
He said it would explore “all the risks, from social harms like bias and misinformation through to the most extreme risks of all”.
A prototype of the safety institute, which the government hopes will become a vehicle for international collaboration on AI safety, already exists in shape of the UK’s frontier AI taskforce, which is scrutinising the safety of cutting-edge AI models and was established this year.
Sunak said a pause in developing powerful models was not feasible. Asked after the speech if he would support a moratorium or ban on developing a highly capable form of AI known as artificial general intelligence, he said: “I don’t think it’s practical or enforceable. As a matter of principle, the UK has rightly been an economy and society that has encouraged innovation for all the good that it can bring. And I think that is the right approach.”
The debate over AI safety reached a new peak in March when an open letter signed by thousands of prominent tech figures including Elon Musk called for an immediate pause in the creation of “giant” AIs for at least six months.
Sunak said it was still unclear whether China would attend the summit, despite Beijing receiving an invite to attend along with technology executives, experts and other global leaders. The prime minister said he could not say with “100% certainty” if Chinese officials would join.
Liz Truss, Sunak’s predecessor, added to the pressure over Chinese attendance on Thursday by asking the prime minister to rescind the invitation, warning that Beijing has used technology to attack “freedom and democracy”.
The White House confirmed Kamala Harris, the vice president, will attend the summit. She will deliver a speech on the US approach to AI on 1 November before attending the event on 2 November, when Sunak will convene a smaller group of international partners, companies and experts to discuss what concrete steps can be taken to address AI risks.
UK officials said they did not see the planned speech by Harris as overshadowing the summit.
One potential development in AI that alarms some experts is AGI, the term for a system that can carry out an array of tasks at a human level of intelligence or beyond.
Sunak was speaking after the government released its assessment of AI safety risks including the admission that an existential threat from the technology could not be ruled out.
“Given the significant uncertainty in predicting AI developments, there is insufficient evidence to rule out that highly capable frontier AI systems, if misaligned or inadequately controlled, could pose an existential threat,” said a government document published on Wednesday.
Other threats detailed in the government risk papers included the ability of systems to design bioweapons, mass-produce “hyper-targeted” disinformation and cause substantial disruption to the jobs market.
Sunak said the worst-case scenario of an existential threat from a “superintelligent” system that evades human control was a scenario that divided opinion among experts and might not happen at all. He added, nonetheless, that major AI developers had voiced concerns about existential risks.
“However uncertain and unlikely these risks are, if they did manifest themselves, the consequences would be incredibly serious,” he said.
“And when so many of the biggest developers of this technology themselves warn of these risks, leaders have a responsibility to take them seriously and to act.”
Sunak added that he would the use the two-day summit to call for the formation of an expert AI monitoring group similar to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
“Next week, I will propose that we establish a truly global expert panel nominated by the countries and organisations attending [the summit] to publish a state of AI science report,” he said.
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Tory MP Crispin Blunt has been arrested and questioned by Surrey police over an allegation of rape and possession of controlled substances.
The 63-year-old MP for Reigate has now had the whip suspended by the Conservatives and he has been asked to stay away from the parliamentary estate.
After reports of the arrest of an unnamed Conservative MP first emerged on Thursday evening, Mr Blunt issued a statement on Twitter/X vowing to clear his name.
Conservative MP Crispin Blunt had already announced he will stand down at the next election
The MP for Reigate said he will “co-operate fully” with the ongoing investigation and is “confident” that he will not be charged. He claimed that he had initially been interviewed by police on Wednesday after he reported an alleged extortion.
“It has been reported that an MP was arrested yesterday in connection with an allegation of rape,” Mr Blunt wrote. “I am confirming that MP was me.”
Mr Blunt said: “The fact of the arrest requires a formal notification of the speaker and then my chief whip. I have now been interviewed twice in connection with this incident, the first time three weeks ago, when I initially reported my concern over extortion. The second time was earlier this morning under caution following arrest.”
“The arrest was unnecessary as I remain ready to cooperate fully with the investigation that I am confident will end without charge. I do not intend to say anything further on this matter until the police have completed their inquiries,” the MP added.
A Surrey police spokesman told The Independent: “We can confirm a man was arrested yesterday morning [25 October] on suspicion of rape and possession of controlled substances. He has been released on conditional police bail pending further enquiries.”
Cabinet minister Gillian Keegan insisted that there is no “cultural issue” among Tory MPs following a series of suspensions. The education secretary said Rishi Sunak has been “clear about high standards” and “always follows due process” when asked about the arrest of Mr Blunt.
Conservative MP Crispin Blunt
(PA Media)
“Due to the serious nature of the allegations... he’s had the whip suspended, but the police are involved now so beyond that it’s not really appropriate for me to comment any further,” she told Times Radio.
Asked whether there was a wider cultural problem among Tory MPs, Ms Keegan said: “No, I certainly don’t see a cultural issue among Conservative MPs. I see individual incidents which are all investigated as such.”
Mr Blunt has been the MP for Reigate, Surrey since 1997. Last year he announced he would not be standing for the Conservatives at the next election.
He joined the army aged 18 for officer training at Sandhurst, serving in the 13th/18th Royal Hussars until 1990. He left the army to join the world of politics, though failed to get elected as an MP in West Bromwich East in 1992.
He went on to serve as Malcolm Rifkind’s special adviser during Mr Rifkind’s terms as defence secretary and then foreign secretary, between 1993 and 1997. He was elected as Conservative MP for Reigate on 1 May 1997.
In 2010, while he was prisons minister, he announced he was splitting from his wife Victoria, revealing he had told his family that he had “decided to come to terms with [my] homosexuality”.
A statement from his office at the time said that there was no third party involved and asked the media to respect his family’s privacy. The couple have one daughter and one son.
He has served as opposition spokesperson for Northern Ireland, shadow minister in the Department of Trade and Industry, opposition whip and shadow minister for national security.
Crispin Blunt will not stand in the next election
Mr Blunt’s arrest is the latest in a string of allegations involving sitting Conservative MPs, dealing another damaging blow to Rishi Sunak and his vow to get tough on sleaze.
Former Tory MP Peter Bone was suspended on Wednesday for six weeks for bullying and sexual misconduct against a staff member. MPs approved the lengthy sanction against the MP for Wellingborough, who has been sitting as an independent since losing the Conservative whip.
In September, Tory whip Chris Pincher resigned from his government role after allegations that he had groped two people while drunk.
A standards committee upheld allegations Mr Pincher “groped” two men at London’s exclusive Carlton Club while he was the Conservative deputy chief whip, in a scandal that hastened Boris Johnson’s downfall.
In May 2022, it emerged that a Tory MP in his 50s had been arrested on suspicion of indecent assault, sexual assault, rape, abuse of position of trust and misconduct in public office.
The Tory whips’ office said at the time that the MP had been asked not to “attend the Parliamentary estate while an investigation is ongoing”. The latest extension to his bail is to mid-February.
Last December, another senior Conservative MP was reported to the police over allegations they committed rape and a string of sexual assaults. The MP was reported to the Metropolitan Police by a group of colleagues, themselves Tory MPs.
And a Conservative MP was arrested on suspicion of rape in 2020. He was never identified and police took no further action after an investigation.
The Prospect and FDA unions representing Westminster staff both called for a vote to automatically exclude MPs under investigation for violent and sexual offences from accessing the parliamentary estate.
Mike Clancy, general secretary of the Prospect, said: “How many more cases like this will it take for action to be taken to protect staff and visitors on the parliamentary estate?”
The FDA’s Dave Penman also called for a vote so MPs can “recognise the responsibility they have to protect the staff and visitors”.
Two hotels near Derbyshire towns will stop being used to house asylum seekers, potentially within the next three months. And if they are not in the first group to be exited, it would be "very soon", according to Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick.
A backlog in the processing of asylum cases and record net migration into the UK last year meant that asylum seekers were placed in hundreds of hotels across the country. These included the Novotel and Best Western hotels on Bostocks Lane - between Long Eaton and Sandiacre - where around 400 people were housed at one stage.
The Government has now announced that it will have stopped using 50 hotels across the country to house asylum seekers by January. Mr Jenrick, who is also the Conservative MP for Newark, confirmed the news in the House of Commons earlier this week, Nottinghamshire Live reports.
He said: "These hotels should be assets for their local communities... not housing illegal migrants at unsustainable costs to the taxpayer. As a result of the progress we've made to stop the boats, today the Home Office wrote to local authorities and MPs to inform them that we will now be exiting the first asylum hotels."
Maggie Throup, the Conservative MP for Erewash, asked Mr Jenrick about the hotels in her constituency by saying: "Will my right honourable friend deliver on a commitment he made to me at the dispatch box on September 5 and confirm that the two hotels on Bostocks Lane are the top of his priority list for closure. If he can't deliver that good news, why not?"
Mr Jenrick replied: "I did make a promise a year ago when I took on this role that we would close hotels and I'm pleased to be able to deliver upon that today. We will be writing to all those who are part of the first tranche today or tomorrow and I'd be very happy to stay in touch with her if she isn't part of that tranche. But if she isn't, then we'll do everything we can to make sure that her hotels are exited very soon."
He added in Parliament that following the first 50 hotels by the end of January, the Government will "not stop there" in exiting more facilities.
It is the latest in a string of arrests of sitting MPs and the latest blow to Rishi Sunak and the Conservative Party, which has been hit by a string of sleaze allegations.
Tory MP for Wellingborough Peter Bone was suspended on Wednesday from the House of Commons for six weeks after bullying and sexual misconduct claims.
The broadcaster has been criticised for its coverage of the conflict, including its refusal to brand Hamas terrorists and its reporting of the explosion at the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza.
Executives said some changes would be made to “increase clarity and accuracy”.
Deborah Turness, head of BBC News and Current Affairs, told staff in an open message: “We are putting in place some additional safeguards around how we attribute and describe sources and information in our coverage of this war.”
The executive explained that the attribution of claims will be altered, with the person or party making the claims now coming before the claim itself, so “instead of ‘Hundreds killed, X claims’, we will start ‘X claims hundreds killed’.”
Ms Turness restated the BBC’s position that parties are not to be called terrorists without attribution, and said that the BBC had not banned the use of the word “militant”, but would no longer use it as the default when referring to Hamas.
Civilian deaths reporting to change
Another key change will be how the BBC reports on civilian deaths in future, in an effort to avoid being accused of bias from either side in the conflict.
Ms Turness wrote: “We also need to think carefully about how we talk about civilian deaths, and how the language we use may, unintentionally, give the impression we view some deaths as more important than others or treat people on either side differently.
“A tweet which said people ‘died’ in Gaza and ‘were killed’ in Israel has been widely used as an example of this. It’s important that we all think carefully about the language we use to avoid creating a false impression.”
The tweaks to the broadcaster’s style come after criticism of its Editorial Guidelines, which prevent journalists from branding Hamas terrorists.
The BBC and other broadcasters’ use of words like “militant” in place of “terrorist” has drawn criticism from figures including the Chief Rabbi and the Prime Minister.
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