FBI Director Kash Patel enraged a key intelligence ally by throwing a tantrum on a blunder-filled visit to meet foreign security service leaders, raising further concerns about his suitability for the role.
During a May trip to London, Patel—nicknamed Keystone Kash for his haphazard approach to law enforcement—reportedly requested at the last minute to divert his flight to a different airport nearer the summit hotel, according to The New York Times.
British officials refused, citing security protocol, according to a former official and another person briefed on the exchange.
Patel listens during a press conference on October 23, 2025 in New York City. His conduct on a trip to the U.K. is said to have raised serious eyebrows. Michael M. Santiago/Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Patel’s personal detail was also barred from carrying guns in the country following a risk assessment, with U.K. officials holding firm despite FBI pushback, the Times reported.
Patel, 45, was also said by the outlet to have jarred attendees by arriving to high-level meetings in a trucker cap and green hoodie, the paper said.
Kash Patel poses with his country singer girlfriend, Alexis Wilkins, next to U.S. President Donald Trump. Instagram
Later, before departing the U.K., Patel and his girlfriend joined security and intelligence chiefs for a dinner at Windsor Castle with King Charles III, two former officials said—ending with a group photo in which Patel stood beside the king.
And, following the trip, Patel further enraged senior U.K. security service officials at MI5 by breaking a vital security assurance he had made to them.
At a closed-door summit of security chiefs in the Sussex countryside, MI5 Director-General Ken McCallum, 49, had pressed Patel to keep funding for a London-based FBI specialist who supports sensitive surveillance tech.
Veteran liaison posts—especially in London—are seen as crucial for daily joint work against spies and terrorists.
Patel agreed with the request, according to multiple U.S. officials cited by the Times—but the position had already been cut, and the agent was shipped back to the U.S., stunning British counterparts and deepening doubts about Patel’s word.
Director General of Britain’s domestic intelligence agency MI5, Ken McCallum, had made a specific request of Patel, which Patel apparently failed to deliver on despite saying he would. JONATHAN BRADY/JONATHAN BRADY/PA WIRE/AFP via Getty Images
The U.S. and U.K. are two members of Five Eyes, a long-standing intelligence-sharing alliance that also includes Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, where trust is vital.
This wasn’t an isolated miscue abroad. In July, Patel gifted replica 3D-printed pistols to New Zealand police and spy chiefs during the opening of a new FBI office in Wellington—only for authorities to deem them illegal and destroy them.
Back home, Patel has also faced a barrage over allegedly using a $60 million FBI jet for personal travel tied to his country singer girlfriend Alexis Wilkins, 27, prompting internal blowback at the agency.
The Daily Beast has contacted the FBI for comment.
