Welcome to our 10th edition of Investigations and intelligence updates, our monthly publication.
Hostile state activity in the UK is escalating in scale, audacity, and strategic intent. 
This month’s intelligence and investigations update reads like a John Le Carré novel - with two major espionage cases breaking across the UK.
First, a network of Bulgarian nationals were convicted of operating a covert Russian spy ring out of 33-bedroom guesthouse in Great Yarmouth and just weeks later: three Iranian nationals were charged under the UK’s new National Security Act, accused of targeting exiled journalists from Iran International with surveillance and plans for violence.
In both cases, our assessment is the same: these are not isolated incidents. They form part of a broader trend in which foreign actors use covert tactics to monitor dissidents, manipulate public discourse, and undermine democratic institutions - exploiting gaps in the UK’s regulatory and legal frameworks to do so.
We unpack it all in this month’s edition - plus additional insights into the disbanding of PKK and an overview of Hatch Bank reprimanding over lapses in their AML processes.