MI5 policy allowing agents to commit crimes was legal, say judges

Human rights groups indicate they will seek to take case to supreme court after appeal court judgment

MI5's partially secret policy of allowing agents to participate in serious crimes in pursuit of intelligence was legal, three court of appeal judges have concluded.

The judges held on Tuesday that MI5 was not above the law" because the long-established power did not equate to an immunity from prosecution, in the latest step in a long-running legal case brought by four human rights groups.