Britain's enemies are circling - now more than ever we must focus our attention at home

The way Russian intelligence agencies operate has shifted dramatically since the Salisbury nerve agent attacks in 2018.

They've been forced to abandon their preferred method of operating within Moscow's embassy and are now more reliant on middlemen known in the trade as "cutouts".

And the GRU in particular is more reliant on "illegals" - spies operating in deep cover under false names and nationalities without the protections of diplomatic immunity.

These individuals are more vulnerable to detection because of the difficulty in building believable back stories which can't be picked apart using a litany of basic online tools and programs, such as LinkedIn.

Why does all this matter?

Because it is riskier. Far riskier.

But Moscow is willing to take that risk as it seeks to weaken military, political and economic support for Ukraine.

And the risk calculus now includes gangsters and guns-for-hire.

The Daily Express previously reported how Russian spies are using a "gig-economy" style of recruiting people on short contracts, with the option to "surge" to meet "the rapidly increasing demand for sabotage operations".

They are believed to have "expanded its recruitment of agents-saboteurs online to go beyond the usual suspects".

Who else has taken a similar approach?

Iran.

Tehran has hired criminals to carry out assassinations on their behalf, with cases linked back to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The Iranian regime is willing to take extreme risks to kill or kidnap its enemies and the growing link between organised crime and hostile states has been alarming intelligence chiefs for some time.

But this spectacularly backfired when a people smuggler they approached to carry out a hit was actually a double agent - for a Western intelligence agency.

Yet, it illustrates exactly why there is so much concern.

It is much easier for Russia and Iran to reach into the UK and cause mayhem. Criminals will always look for a quick buck, so Britain's intelligence agencies will have to keep an eye on so many more people. Russia and Iran have a far greater pool of people to carry out their bidding.

And this is where we bring in another crucial aspect of MI5's work.

Countering terrorism.

The threat has not subsided - 43 late-stage plots have been disrupted since 2017.

In fact, as Mr McCallum warned, ISIS and Al-Qaeda have returned.

Reports have been circulating for weeks that the terror group has been rebuilding in Syria. The frequency of their attacks has increased.

And the MI5 Director General was at pains to point out ISKP's capabilities, with two of the deadliest attacks this year carried out by the group.

So, at a time when the threat from hostile states is intensifying, the international terror threat is back on MI5's radar.

No wonder Ken McCallum described the situation he is facing as the "most complex".

Britain's enemies are circling from every angle, both at home and abroad.