Every terror attack is sickening, says MI5 head at FBI director’s leaving event
Sir Ken McCallum, who was knighted in the latest New Year Honours, gave a speech at the leaving event for FBI director Christopher Wray on Friday.
MI5’s director general has said every terrorist attack is “sickening” during a speech in Washington celebrating the outgoing FBI director.
Sir Ken McCallum, who was knighted in the latest New Year Honours, made the remarks at a leaving event for FBI director Christopher Wray at the FBI headquarters on Friday.
He said he and Mr Wray have worked together “incredibly closely on counter-terrorism” over the years.
“Every attack is sickening to us as human beings – and, as those in this room and dialled in know well, is sickening in a very particular way to those of us who have made it our life’s work to defeat terrorists and their evil ideologies”, Sir Ken said.
He added: “MI5 and the FBI, and therefore Chris and I, have worked together incredibly closely on counter-terrorism down the years. We stand together, at all times.”
In December, Mr Wray announced that he plans to resign at the end of President Joe Biden’s term in January.
It came a week and a half after President-elect Donald Trump declared his intention to nominate loyalist Kash Patel for the job.
Mr Trump appointed Mr Wray for the 10-year term in 2017 but the FBI chief quickly fell out of favour with the then-president and his allies.
The president-elect has publicly criticised him and the FBI on multiple occasions, including after a search of his Florida property for classified documents and two investigations that resulted in his indictment.
During the same event on Friday, Mr Wray said the FBI must remain independent, above the partisan fray and “committed to upholding the rule of law”.
Adhering to the rule of law “means conducting investigations without fear or favour and it means not pursuing investigations when the predication’s not there”, he said.
“That’s what the rule of law is all about,” he said. “We’ve got to maintain our independence and objectivity, staying above partisanship and politics because that’s what the American people expect and I think that’s what they deserve.”
Sir Ken paid tribute to the longstanding partnership between the FBI and MI5 that is “anchored by shared values and vital in light of shared threats”.
He said: “We work together not because we like each other – though we do – but because our job demands it.
“We know we provide a better service to our fellow citizens when we team up. Real-time intelligence exchanges and joint capabilities keep Brits and Americans safe.”
He recalled how a 2006 Al Qaeda plot targeting seven flights out of Heathrow was detected and disrupted by MI5 and British police, “saving hundreds, if not thousands, of American lives”.
Sir Ken added: “In an era of transnational threats, international partnerships are pivotal.
“As he hands on the baton, I look forward to working with his successor as our organisations continue to strive to keep our generations safe. Together.”
He said the “defining feature” Mr Wray’s tenure has been his “personal leadership in calling out state-backed cyber, espionage and interference threats” and “engaging the private sector, who are so key to our resilience”.
Sir Ken also paid tribute to the victims of the New Year’s Day attack on New Orleans, which killed 14 people.
