The M15 have been accused of “flagrant racism” as white candidates are once again exempt from applying to the intelligence agency’s summer internship roles.
For the 2026/27 academic year, those in their final or penultimate year of university can apply to a position – but must fit the criteria of being from a “black, Asian, mixed heritage or ethnic minority background”.
Applicants must also be from a “socially or economically disadvantaged background”, it reads on the official agency website.
Chris Philp, Shadow Home Secretary, described the process as “flagrant racism from MI5 & GCHQ”, a partner intelligence and security organisation also taking applicants.
He wrote on X: “White applicants for summer 2027 internships – including from disadvantaged backgrounds – can’t apply. The scheme must be scrapped.
“Applications should be merit-based and colour blind. Working class white boys are among the most disadvantaged – yet are ignored.”
Both MI5 and the Government Communications Headquarters defended the selection process, by claiming those they were seeking would fill a void in its ranks.
The guidance reads: “We’re confining the applications for this internship to those within this demographic due to a current underrepresentation in our workforce.”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: “Yet again, taxpayer funds are being used to fuel a culture of anti-white prejudice across the public sector.
“It’s racism. It’s wrong. Only Reform will bring meritocracy back to our institutions. We’ll ensure that nobody is discriminated against based on the colour of their skin.”
His remarks follow earlier allegations of two-tier policy in Britain, surrounding the case of 18-year-old Henry Nowak who was stabbed to death by Vickrum Digwa in December last year.
Mr Farage and his party colleagues pointed to police guidance, urging officers to treat people differently based on the colour of their skin, after police watched Henry die to lend credence to Digwa’s false claims that the victim had been racist.
Commentators and critics argue these cases, when stacked up, represent a prejudice against white Britons in Britain, regardless of how well intentioned diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) measures are.
The summer intelligence internship has been running at MI5, MI6, and GCHQ since 2023, and helps to “increase diversity within our organisations”.
The UK’s spy agencies have come under fire before for what was dubbed a “racist” internship offered only to young people from BAME backgrounds, as well as holding the same criteria for the role of senior admin officer.
Allegations have followed DEI led applications within the agencies since the scheme launched, with near annual backlash since 2023 as each new wave of summer schemes launch.
Nigel Farage hit back at the MI5 as ‘anti-white prejudice’
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PA
According to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), employers are allowed to take “positive action” by encouraging certain groups to apply for jobs to “address disadvantage or underrepresentation”.
They add positive action is lawful if the action taken is “proportionate” to address the issue.
“If an employer wants to take positive action in this way, the advert should clearly state the employer is seeking applications from everyone but wishes to encourage applications from people with a particular protected characteristic on the basis that they are underrepresented or face disadvantage,” the EHRC says.
GB News has contacted the Home Office for comment
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