The head of MI5 has launched a blistering attack on Russia, accusing Vladimir Putin's regime of 'bare-faced lying', 'criminal thuggery' and a 'cynical and distasteful' disinformation campaign after the chemical weapons attack in Salisbury.

In the first public speech outside Britain by a serving head of MI5, Andrew Parker said Britain did not want to escalate tensions with Moscow but that a series of recent 'aggressive and pernicious' actions directed by the Kremlin were unacceptable.

He told European security chiefs that the Salisbury poisonings were a deliberate and malign act that risked turning Russia into a 'more isolated pariah'.

And he launched a strident attack on the 'fog of lies, half truths and obfuscation' that pours out of Mr Putin's propaganda machine.

Andrew Parker, Director General of MI5, has launched a scathing verbal assault on Russia as he addressed European security chiefs in Berlin

Mr Parker's speech in Berlin is the first time he has spoken publicly since the attempted assassination of former Russian agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in March.

The attack - carried out with a novichok nerve toxin which, police believe, was smeared on the former double agent's front door - marked the first use of a nerve agent in Europe since the Second World War.

Mr Parker said: 'The reckless attempted assassination of Sergei Skripal using a highly-lethal nerve agent put numerous lives at risk, including that of his daughter.

'The attack was swiftly followed by a cynical and distasteful information campaign to sow confusion and doubt.

'The Russian state's media outlets and representatives propagated at least 30 so-called explanations in their efforts to mislead the world and their own people.'

He added: 'Whatever nonsense they conjure up, the case is clear.'

Mr Parker listed Putin's methods as 'blending media manipulation, social media disinformation and distortion, along with new and old levels of espionage, cyber attacks and criminal thuggery'.

He said Putin's machine pumped out ' a torrent of lies' after the chemical weapons attack on civilians in Syria.

Former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were exposed to military grade nerve agent Novichok in Salisbury. Russia is believed to be behind the poisoning

The MI5 director-general also urged the UK and Europe to work together to deal with an unrelenting international terrorist threat and rising state aggression.

His words are likely to be interpreted as a warning to Brussels to agree a post-Brexit deal on security co-operation.

That has been in growing doubt amid a row over whether Britain will still be allowed to participate in the EU's multi-billion pound Galileo global navigation satellite project.

But Mr Parker reserved his toughest language for Russia, saying Mr Putin's government is pursuing an agenda through aggressive and pernicious actions by its military and intelligence services.

He accusef the Kremlin of flagrant breaches of international rules, warning that the Salisbury attack was a 'deliberate and targeted malign activity'.

Forensic officers searching the area around the bench where former Soviet Spy Sergei Skripal fell ill in March

UK security forces have thwarted TWELVE terror attacks in a year since the Westminster Bridge atrocity, MI5 chief reveals The security services have foiled 12 terror plots since the Westminster attack last March, MI5 chief Andrew Parker has reveal. Emphasising the scale of the job facing counter-terrorism officials, the MI5 director-general said Islamic State continues to plot devastating attacks. He told EU spies in Berlin that 25 attacks have been disrupted on UK soil since the murder of Lee Rigby in 2013. Pointing to 45 attacks across Europe since 2016, Mr Parker warned of an 'intense and unrelenting international terrorist threat'. He said he is 'confident about our ability to tackle these threats, because of the strength and resilience of our democratic systems, the resilience of our societies and the values we share with our European partners'. The thwarted attacks include alleged plans to carry out carnage at tourist attractions, pop concerts and government buildings. Plots have also included knife and vehicle rampages across the country. Mr Parker's comments come ahead of the first anniversary of the bombing at Manchester Arena that killed 22. Advertisement

Britain's security agencies are still trying to identify those individuals behind the attack. It is understood there are several persons of interest who are back in Moscow and may have been in the UK at the time of the poisoning.

Mr Parker, who has been head of the security service since 2013, also condemned the unprecedented level of Russian disinformation following the attack, saying it highlights the need 'to shine a light through the fog of lies, half-truths and obfuscation that pours out of their propaganda machine'.

In the wake of the attack, Theresa May said 'Kremlin inspired' accounts were posting lies as 'part of a wider effort to undermine the international system'.

Mr Parker, however, praised the international response to the incident in his speech at today's event, hosted by Germany's BfV domestic intelligence service.

He noted that 28 European countries agreed to support the UK in expelling scores of Russian diplomats.

Earlier this year the Prime Minister set out her 'unconditional' determination to agree a comprehensive new agreement on European security co-operation post Brexit.

But since then, she has been locked in a bitter row with the EU over its bid to evict Britain from the Galileo programme. Galileo is the EU's rival to the American GPS system and is used by the British military to navigate.

As a result, Britain has warned the EU it could go it alone and build its own navigational satellite system.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied all involvement in the Skripal poisoning case but MI5 chief Andrew Parker is set to publicly blame him

Mr Parker, who is first head of MI5 to give a public speech outside the UK, underlined the importance of security co-operation across the continent. He stated that 'European intelligence co-operation today is simply unrecognisable to what it looked like five years ago'.

Mr Parker spelled out why an effective security partnership between the UK and Europe is more operationally vital than ever before. He said 'in today's uncertain world we need that shared strength more than ever'.

He described how the Counter Terrorism Group, which is made up of 30 European domestic security services, is the 'largest multinational counter-terrorism enterprise in the world'. This is where 'real-time intelligence sharing' involves 'thousands of exchanges on advanced secure networks every week'.

Last year, Mrs May's national security adviser, Mark Sedwill, said the threat from Moscow was worse than ever imagined. He warned that it was intensifying and diversifying.