THE Russian Government is the main force behind “sustained hostile activity” to western states, the head of MI5 has claimed.

During an address at a security symposium in Berlin, director-general Andrew Parker referred to the Kremlin as the “chief protagonist” in a campaign aimed at undermining a number of democracies.

This is said to include the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury, the occupation of Crimea, attempted interference in US and French elections, a cyber attack against Germany’s federal parliament and an attempted coup in Montenegro.

Emphasising the UK’s “admiration and respect for the people of Russia”, he went on: “One of the Kremlin’s central and entirely admirable aims is to build Russian greatness on the world stage.

“There are ways open for it to do so as part of the rules-based order, but its repeated choices have been to pursue that aim through aggressive and pernicious actions by its military and intelligence services.

“Instead of becoming a respected great nation, it risks becoming a more isolated pariah.”

The Berlin summit, organised by German intelligence agency BFV, marks the first overseas address by a serving MI5 director-general.

One week before the anniversary of the Manchester bombing and two days after a knife attack on civilians in Paris, Parker also said Daesh will continue to pose a threat in Europe.

Stating that UK police have prevented 12 attacks since March 2017, he went on: “While Daesh has now lost its false caliphate in its strongholds in Syria and Iraq, tackling the group as a movement will require sustained international focus for years to come.”

Parker also spoke of his desire for a “comprehensive and enduring agreement” on data sharing after Brexit, saying: “We must not risk the loss of mutual capability or weakening of collective effort.”

Responding to the criticism, the Russian embassy tweeted a press report about Parker’s claim that the Kremlin is behind a “fog of lies”, along with the comment: “It’s Britain that is notorious for fogs.”

Reviewing the speech, Dr Tim Wilson, of the Handa Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence at St Andrews University, described Russian acts as “incredibly sophisticated and increasingly assertive”.

He told The National: “Back in the Cold War days, often the fight against terrorism, which in those days was synonymous with the IRA, tended to be less integrated with state-sponsored acts. Now that seems to have melded.

“MI5 is meant to cover everything from incredibly sophisticated and increasingly assertive Russian acts through to incredibly spontaneous low tech. It’s a huge range of threats to be trying to intercept.”