In March 2024, Pouria Zeraati, an Iranian journalist, was stabbed three times in the leg outside his Wimbledon home in south London. Two men confronted him, one holding him while the other stabbed him before fleeing. The attack was later linked to the Iranian regime in Tehran, a punishment for Zeraati's work covering Iran. He survived, but this incident is one of dozens of violent attacks in recent years tied to foreign states including Russia, China, India, Saudi Arabia, and Iran, involving physical assaults, attempted kidnap, stabbings, and an acid attack.
MI5 investigations surge by 48%
State-threat investigations run by MI5 jumped by 48% in a year, and there have been more than 20 threat-to-life cases relating to Iran since 2022. In May 2025, arson attacks on properties connected to Prime Minister Keir Starmer were linked to Russia. Two men were jailed on Thursday for surveilling Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigners in the UK on behalf of China through a “shadow policing” operation. Parliamentarians and lawyers say the UK has become a “hunting ground for authoritarian regimes.”
Victims describe fear and inadequate responses
Diaspora communities from Hong Kong, Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and India told the Guardian they have faced threats, sexualised harassment, economic coercion, state-linked legal cases, and violent attacks. They described sparse, incoherent, and inadequate responses from UK authorities, with detrimental impacts on their health and safety. Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson KC said in Zeraati's trial, “Whereas historically the UK has been less targeted than other places in the world, that position has changed in recent times.”
Ben Keith, a barrister specialising in cross-border cases, said, “The UK government is not prepared to stand up to anybody.” Clive Stafford Smith, an American lawyer helping victims, added, “The FBI have advised victims not to travel to the UK … because the British government does not take meaningful action when dictators go hunting their dissidents.”
Legal gaps and data shortcomings
The UK overhauled its legislation with the 2023 National Security Act, including offences around espionage, sabotage, and foreign interference, but Lord Alton, chair of the Joint Committee of Human Rights, said it still lacks a clear strategy and accurate data on attacks. Roshaan Khattak, an exiled Pakistani activist and former Cambridge University researcher, said he received an Instagram message in November 2025 warning him to stop criticising Pakistan or be killed, including details of his Pakistan passport and ID card. He said police often mock him or are unaware of Balochistan. A Pakistan high commission spokesperson said, “Pakistan firmly rejects any malicious suggestions that it engages in transnational repression.”
Iran remains the biggest perpetrator
Iran is the biggest perpetrator, with multiple activists, journalists, academics, and students reporting threats, surveillance, or intimidation. Nahid Bahmani, a member of Komala, said police foiled a terrorist plot against her husband Abdullah Mohtadi last year, forcing them to move house every few years. “This is not simply a physical relocation. It creates a deep psychological insecurity,” she said. An Iranian activist in London said, “I am in a permanent state of anxiety… At night, any noise sends me straight to check my CCTV.”
Alicia Kearns, Conservative MP, accused the Labour government of “rewarding one of the states most responsible” by granting China a new embassy in London despite its repression of Hongkongers. A Home Office spokesperson said attempts by foreign states to coerce, intimidate, harass, or harm individuals on UK soil are considered a threat to national security and will never be tolerated.
