Ambassador does not deny Russia is tracking UK nuclear subs with sensors
Pressed further by Kuenssberg, the ambassador added: "I'm denying existence of threats for the United Kingdom. This threat has been invented, absolutely, there is no threat at all from Russia to the UK."Kelin's admission follows an investigation published by the Sunday Times earlier this month, detailing the discovery of alleged Russian sensors in seas around Britain.In its investigation, the Sunday Times said the devices are believed to have been planted by Moscow to try to gather intelligence on the UK's four Vanguard submarines, which carry nuclear missiles.
The British military discovered the existence of the devices and deemed them a potential threat to national security, the paper reported.The devices have been characterised as being part of a hybrid - or "grey zone" - war being fought by Russian President Vladimir Putin.Other activities of such warfare could include doing damage to infrastructure assets, such as energy pipelines.Putin's secret weapon: The threat to the UK lurking on our sea bedsThe accusations come after the Royal Navy released images in March of a Russian warship that it tracked sailing near British waters.Named Boikiy, it is one of several Russian vessels to have been tracked sailing near the British coast in recent months.Defence Secretary John Healey told MPs in January that the Royal Navy had monitored a Russian spy ship after it was spotted around UK waters - accusing the vessel, called Yantar, of being used to gather intelligence and map the UK's underwater infrastructure.Former Conservative defence and Foreign Office minister Tobias Ellwood has warned that the UK is "behind the curve" in tracking Russia's deep-sea operations.Ellwood told the Guardian earlier this month the use of sensors was "only half the story", claiming that Russia has established "remote seabed platforms" off the UK coast that act as recharging stations for dozens of mini-submarines "to map our undersea cable networks for potential sabotage".A Ministry of Defence spokesperson told BBC News: "We are committed to maintaining and enhancing the security and resilience of critical undersea infrastructure. "Just as the defence secretary called out the activities of the Russian spy ship Yantar hovering over our undersea cables, let those who threaten the UK or our allies be in no doubt that we will defend our undersea infrastructure."Responding to the Sunday Times investigation into the sensors, an MoD spokesman said: "Alongside our NATO and Joint Expeditionary Force allies, we are strengthening our response to ensure that Russian ships and aircraft cannot operate in secrecy near the UK or near NATO territory, harnessing new technologies like AI and coordinating patrols with our allies. "And our continuous-at-sea nuclear deterrent continues to patrol the world's oceans undetected as it has done for 56 years."
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Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Gold rises on softer yields, focus on Trump–Zelenskiy meeting and Jackson Hole summit
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Spectator
an hour ago
- Spectator
Reform has to distance itself from extremists
According to the National – a worrying phrase, I admit, given the Scottish newspaper's obsessive adulation of anyone pro-Scottish independence and its obsessive hostility to anyone who opposes it – this weekend saw a Scottish Reform councillor share a platform with a member of a far-right group at a protest outside a Falkirk hotel housing asylum seekers. What is most interesting about this story is not the protest itself, or even the Reform councillor's presence. It is the response of Reform to one of its councillors sharing a platform with this person and saying or doing nothing about it. Despite the widespread labelling of anyone who believes that our borders should be controlled as far right, and despite the usual bias of the National, the facts it has reported seem clear. At the protest, Claire Mackie-Brown shared a platform with one Richard McFarlane, a member of Patriotic Alternative, which describes itself as a 'ethno-nationalist organisation that campaigns for the rights and wellbeing of White Britons.' Last year, the government's anti-extremism advisor described Patriotic Alternative as 'a racist and anti-Semitic far-right group founded in 2019 by former BNP youth leader Mark Collett.' Cllr Mackie-Brown can be forgiven if she had no idea who McFarlane was when he began to speak. But once he did, no one could have been in any doubt about his views. In his seven-minute speech he asserted that, 'we need to give them the fingers, and say we are white, we are British, we are proud'. He concluded: 'Keep Britain white, keep Britain British.' According to the protest organiser, neither the Reform councillor nor the Patriotic Alternative member were invited to speak: 'The microphone was open to anyone who wished to share their personal concerns or experiences. No speakers were formally invited or endorsed by the organisers it was a platform for local people. If individuals with affiliations to political groups or outside organisations chose to speak, that was entirely their choice and not something we had pre-arranged or promoted.' That's fair enough, and in those circumstances it's easy to see how a local residents' protest was overrun by the far-right. But that is far from being a one-off. One of the recurring themes of these protests up and down the country is how they attract the far-right. Which makes it all the more obvious, and all the more important, that mainstream politicians from mainstream parties should have a serious and convincing response when the far-right are present. At the very least, that needs to involve denouncing the racism and the white nationalism of extremists. Otherwise, it becomes easy to label all the protests as being far-right, and to label representatives of parties such as Reform which stand alongside them as being part of the far-right. As far as one can tell from reports, which have not been contradicted, that did not happen this weekend in Falkirk. Cllr Mackie-Brown appears to have said nothing in response. But while Cllr Mackie-Brown may have been out of her depth and blindsided by what she heard, one might expect that Reform itself would have a ready-made response to such issues. And it has: but the response is useless. Reform told the National: 'Councillor Claire Brown was there to represent Reform and her concerned constituents, she is not responsible for the other people attending and will continue to stand up for residents on this extremely important issue.' Of course she isn't responsible for the other speakers. No one has suggested she is. But as a representative of Reform, she – and anyone else in a similar situation – has to react. You can't simply pretend you are in a bubble, removed from scene, when someone you are standing with is ranting 'Keep Britain white.' It's a similar point to what has been happening on the 'Free Palestine' hate marches. The argument is made that the majority present are ordinary, decent people simply concerned about the deaths in Gaza. They may indeed be. But if you turn up at a march to discover that a proportion of your fellow marchers are Jew haters, chanting anti-Semitic slogans and waving anti-Semitic banners, then you have a choice. You can leave, distancing yourself. Or – as has been happening – you can continue on the march and, even worse, come back the following week, again saying and doing nothing to condemn the hate around you. And in doing so you not only remove any claim to decency, you become part of the problem. Reform has the same choice to make. Does it pretend that it is not part of the same protest when the far-right arrives? Or does it denounce and condemn racists for leaching onto a legitimate protest by ordinary and decent local residents? This will be a recurring theme for Reform as its elected officials and members – entirely legitimately – attend protests outside asylum hotels and are joined by far-right agitators. Unless Reform finds a way to properly distance itself from them, it will be tarred with their brush.
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Vladimir Putin's 'secret daughter' blasts Russian leader and supports Ukraine in war
An alleged daughter once hidden from public view has broken her silence by directly denouncing her 'father', Vladimir Putin, for the destruction he wrought across millions of lives in Ukraine A woman widely believed to be Vladimir Putin's long-rumoured daughter has emerged as she condemned the Russian leader for the devastation of war and extended her support to Ukraine amid the conflict. Elizaveta Krivonogikh, a 22-year-old art school graduate living in Paris who is believed to be Putin's youngest daughter, shared the messages on her private Telegram, in line with her increasing openness on Instagram as she's started to share more images of herself. Though her identity remains officially unconfirmed, she insisted that her father's decisions have cost "millions" of lives and obliterated any semblance of normalcy she might have known. It comes after Putin warns of nuclear war after unleashing another night of hell on Ukraine. 'It's liberating to be able to show my face to the world again,' she wrote, Bild reported. 'It reminds me of who I am and who destroyed my life,' she added. The Telegram chat, dubbed 'Art of Luiza,' references her work pseudonym, Luiza Rozova. Krivonogikh has never shot down the theories surrounding her being Putin's daughter. The budding artist was born in 2003 after a suspected affair between Putin and her mother, Svetlana, the president's then-housekeeper. The bombshell was first revealed after a 2020 investigation by Russian media outlet Proekt, citing her 'phenomenal resemblance' to Putin. He isn't listed on her birth certificate, but 'Vladimirovna' was included, translating to 'daughter of Vladimir.' It comes as President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine is set to visit the White House on Monday and confront a difficult choice from President Trump: give up land to Russia in exchange for US. promises for Ukraine's future security, or hold his ground and risk reigniting Trump's anger. Just hours before the meeting, Russian attacks in the Ukrainian cities of Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia killed at least 10 people, including a child, and injured dozens of others, the Ukrainian authorities said. Mr Zelensky condemned the strikes as a deliberate attempt to put pressure on Ukraine amid the talks. Residents of Kyiv are said to be sceptical that his meeting with President Trump will bring progress toward an end to the Russian invasion. Many Ukrainians were still reeling from watching Trump greet Putin with a red carpet and warm handshake in Alaska on Friday, when the two leaders held talks that ended with Trump tilting toward Russia's position on ending the war. Putin invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, with the war still raging on three years later. According to the British Ministry of Defence, more than one million Russian troops have been killed or injured since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on 24 February 2022. The estimate aligns with a recent study by the US-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), which puts Russian military deaths at up to 250,000 and total casualties, including the wounded, at over 950,000. Ukraine has suffered very high losses as well, with between 60,000 and 100,000 personnel killed and total casualties reaching approximately 400,000.
