The case, which began in 2022 with an attempt to block the BBC from publishing a story about the neo-Nazi agent, has become a major test of how the courts view MI5 and the credibility of its evidence.
MI5 gave evidence to three courts, saying that it had never breached its core secrecy policy of neither confirming nor denying (NCND) that a man known only as X was a state agent.
But in February, the BBC was able to prove with notes and recordings of phone calls with MI5 that this was false.
An MI5 officer had confirmed the agent’s status as he tried to persuade me to drop an investigation into X, a violent neo-Nazi misogynist who used his Security Service role to coerce and terrify his former girlfriend, known publicly as “Beth”.
At Tuesday’s hearing MI5 acknowledged that the NCND policy could no longer be maintained in this case.
This policy has meant significant amounts of evidence has been confined to closed hearings which neither the BBC nor Beth – who has brought a separate case complaining about MI5 – are permitted to attend.
Outside court, Beth’s solicitor Kate Ellis said this meant she would now get a fair trial of her own legal claim against MI5.
Read More: MI5 lied deliberately, BBC tells court
