Kate Ellis, solicitor for “Beth”, from the Centre for Women’s Justice, said: “We now understand that MI5 has misled three courts by giving or relying on false evidence – over a period of several years – and this has allowed them to avoid giving ‘Beth’ any meaningful answers.
MI5 said its policy of neither confirming nor denying that someone was their agent should stand; the woman’s lawyers said that would frustrate her push for justice.
A high court judge has found that MI5 gave false evidence to three courts as it faced scrutiny over its handling of a neo-Nazi agent alleged to have attacked his partner.
Ken McCallum said: “It has become clear that MI5 provided incorrect information to the high court in relation to an aspect of our witness statement.
In a statement, Yvette Cooper said: “It is clearly a very serious matter to provide incorrect information to the court and MI5 has apologised directly for this.
