Britain's spy network has been stretched to breaking point by a barrage of new deadly threats, MI5’s Whitehall boss has warned.

In a chilling interview with The Mail on Sunday, Security Minister Ben Wallace painted a disturbing picture of how Russian aggression, Islamic extremism, neo-Nazi terrorism and organised crime have made the world a more dangerous place.

Revealing that there are hundreds of active ongoing operations, he made a direct plea for more Treasury funding to help the hard-pressed security services combat rising threats.

Security Minister Ben Wallace (right) with Andrew Parker, director of MI5, in the operations room. Mr Wallace said the world was 'very much more dangerous' now than when he took on the job three years ago

Speaking exclusively to this newspaper inside MI5’s London HQ, Mr Wallace said the world was ‘very much more dangerous’ now than when he took on the job three years ago, adding: ‘If you think your adversaries can’t go any lower, you have to think again.’

The Minister said: ‘What keeps me awake at night is that the maxim that we have to be lucky all the time, they only have to be lucky once.

‘We’re under assault from all types of enemy – sophisticated cyber criminals, organised crime bosses, terrorists and hostile states – relentlessly picking away at us, targeting us and using all the facilities that the 21st Century has to offer to attack our values and our people.’

In a chilling interview with The Mail on Sunday, Security Minister Ben Wallace painted a disturbing picture of how Russian aggression, Islamic extremism, neo-Nazi terrorism and organised crime have made the world a more dangerous place. Pictured are members of banned neo-Nazi group National Action

He said far-Right terrorists had copied tactics from Islamic State jihadis, and law enforcement was stretched as organised criminals using the internet become harder to catch.

Mr Wallace, who tomorrow becomes the UK’s longest-serving Security Minister ever, also attacked accountants, lawyers and estate agents, particularly those in London, for not doing enough to turn down ‘dirty money’.

He revealed that nearly 600 investigations by the security services are ‘live’ and said they show that ‘activities of hostile state actors such as we saw last year in Salisbury are not one-offs. They’re active, they’re targeting, they’re spying, they’re stealing, they’re corrupting – that’s growing, not declining.

He said far-Right terrorists had copied tactics from Islamic State jihadis, and law enforcement was stretched as organised criminals using the internet become harder to catch

Russian aggression was one of the worries Mr Wallace spoke of in his chilling interview. Pictured are Russian military vehicles

‘What’s worrying is the rapid growth of organised crime because of the things like smartphones and encryption. Their ability to organise better means that we have to invest to face that issue.

‘I can tell you, we are at stretch. We’re not at over-stretch but we’re at stretch.

‘If we are going to carry on keeping people safe in the way we have been doing it compared to many countries, we’re going to need to invest. MI5 and the police are stretched, we are stretched because there are only so many hours in the day to deal with the growing threats such as neo-Nazi Right-wing extremism.

‘The change that has happened is that the far-Right have copied Islamic State – how to echo an event, often twisted, often inaccurate, to serve as a rallying cry for their cause.

‘What’s worrying is the rapid growth of organised crime because of the things like smartphones and encryption. Their ability to organise better means that we have to invest to face that issue'. Stock picture

‘The vast majority of terrorist plots against this country are Islamist, Daesh [Islamic State] and Al Qaeda plots, but the threat of the so-called lone actor, the individual who sits in his bedroom and fantasises about taking their warped views of the world on to the streets, is growing.’

In a direct plea to Chancellor Philip Hammond, the former soldier said: ‘We are going to need to do more if we are to keep one step ahead of those threats.

‘We are going to need to fund more of our intelligence services and our police. Security at home and abroad doesn’t come cheap and we are going to have to invest in that and continue.

‘In this game you are also trying to see what’s over the horizon. For us to continue to keep pace, we’re going to have to grow with it. If we don’t invest, then I think we won’t keep pace.’

Ramming home his demand, he added: ‘You’re going to need an uplift, you’re going to need to spend more than you have now. The Treasury should understand that every pound you put into security, you get a lot more back. Philip Hammond has been a former Defence Secretary and a Foreign Secretary and he’ll understand what you get for your money.’

The Home Office allocated £728 million for counter-terrorism this financial year, but Mr Wallace argued that will not be enough in future due to the historically high threat level.

He also claimed that the nameless ‘professionals’ who work under cover deserved more cash as they ‘do it not for glamour or a uniform or medals, not even for recognition – there are no parades for them’.

‘We are the good guys and we are after the bad guys,’ he added. ‘Because of the work they do we are not lucky, we are successful every day of the week at the moment.’

The Home Office allocated £728 million for counter-terrorism this financial year, but Mr Wallace argued that will not be enough in future due to the historically high threat level. Drug package discovered in engine compartment of a car

As well as pleading for more cash, Mr Wallace also demanded that London’s services sector stops ‘dragging its heels’ when it comes to tackling those who facilitate illicit trade and finance in the UK.

‘What makes me scream is that nearly every single money-laundering case has a lawyer involved in it. I then look at the number of suspicious activities reported by lawyers in a year and I think it’s like 1,000 out of 400,000.

‘The banks are actually doing a lot – the lawyers, the accountants and the estate agents aren’t even yet at the races.’

And he warned the sector: ‘When people justify taking dirty money by saying, “I’m just the estate agent”, some of that dirty money comes from people who traffic children, who murder people, who steal through cyber crime in our bank accounts and they wash it and they put a nice suit on and they come back to London.

‘People who think it is just a bit of fun or it’s nothing to do with them should recognise that it fuels more crime and more victims.’