Latest news with #GeneralSirJimHockenhull
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Britain is set to splash £1billion on an 'army of hackers' to target the likes of Putin
Britain will unleash an army of hackers on Russia, as the government prepares to spend £1 billion on artificial intelligence and a hacking attack team. Defence Secretary John Healey said the Government will set up a cyber command to counter a 'continual and intensifying' level of cyber warfare as part of the strategic defence review. The Government will also invest more than £1 billion into a new 'digital targeting web' to be set up by 2027 to better connect weapons systems and allow battlefield decisions targeting enemy threats to be made and executed faster. It could identify a threat using a sensor on a ship or in space and then disable it using an F-35 aircraft, drone, or offensive cyber operation, the Ministry of Defence said. The cyber and electromagnetic command will be led by General Sir Jim Hockenhull to defend against cyber attacks and co-ordinate offensive moves with the national cyber force. Mr Healey added that the Government is responding after some 90,000 cyber attacks from state-linked sources were directed at the UK's defence over the last two years. 'Certainly the intensity of the cyber attacks that we're seeing from Russia stepped up, and cyber is now the leading edge, not just of defence, but of contests and tension between countries,' he told reporters during a visit to MOD Corsham. He said there is a 'level of cyber warfare that is continual and intensifying' that requires the UK to step up its capacity to defend against it. The command will also work on electromagnetic warfare - for example, through degrading command and control, jamming signals to drones or missiles and intercepting an adversary's communications. Over the last five years, the National Cyber Force has carried out hacking operations on behalf of the military. It will now coordinate offensive cyber capabilities with the new Cyber and Electromagnetic Command, which will fight enemies on the web and lead defensive operations. Details of Britain's offensive cyber capabilities are a secret, but action by other countries has ranged from spying on officials to installing software that forces industrial machinery to break. Russia, China, Iran and North Korea are all believed to have hackers who work in espionage with the aim of breaking into sensitive information online, or engaging in cyber attacks.
BBC News
22-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Military intelligence show to be housed in London Blitz tunnels
The history of military intelligence will be explored as part of a planned tourist attraction in London's World War Two air raid shelter part of its plans to bring the Kingsway Exchange Tunnels to the public, London Tunnels will collaborate with the Museum of Military Intelligence to showcase original artefacts, equipment, weapons and 8,000 sq m of tunnels under High Holborn were built in 1942 to provide protection during the Blitz. They were later used as a home for a British spy Murray, CEO, The London Tunnels, said the site was an ideal backdrop to tell the remarkable stories of men and women who played a "vital role in protecting Britain". The tunnels, which featured in the first James Bond novel, have remained unused since they were decommissioned in 1990. The exhibition will feature stories from the Battle of Britain and D-Day, the espionage operations of the Cold War, the Falklands War, peace-keeping missions and the terrorist threat of the 21st Century. General Sir Jim Hockenhull KBE ADC Gen, Commander of Strategic Command and Colonel Commandant of the Intelligence Corps, said it would be "the world's most authoritative permanent exhibition of military intelligence".The trustees of the Museum of Military Intelligence said the "historically significant and evocative location" would bring the exhibition to Museum of Military Intelligence was founded by the British Army's Intelligence Corps and is now also supported by the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.
Telegraph
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Let's not rush to judgement on our Special Forces
The latest harrowing and graphic BBC Panorama documentary on alleged murders by UK Special Forces highlights again the reasons why Lord Justice Haddon-Cave was tasked to conduct his ongoing independent inquiry. A cast of actors, representing BBC sources, suggest that the cold-blooded and deliberate execution of unarmed prisoners was both common and endorsed by the chain of command. This is horrifying if true. But such TV programmes lead to a fear within the Special Forces community that they are being well and truly hung out to dry: not by the Haddon-Cave inquiry, but by hidden voices that use documentaries rather than the inquiry as a forum to broadcast their observations. Special Forces personnel past and present also notice the fact that very few senior officers, serving or retired, have entered this public debate in their support – though General Sir Jim Hockenhull, the head of Strategic Command, has recently stated that he has 'supreme confidence' in them. It nonetheless feels to many in the UKSF community as though the Special Forces as a whole have already been tried and condemned. Given the nature of the allegations, nobody is suggesting the inquiry is not necessary – if there is a legitimate case to be answered, let Haddon-Cave examine it and let the hard sword of justice fall. But while he does his work, let us not pass hasty judgement. Let's not forget the vital and dangerous work that the Special Forces have done for our country and still do today. Shakespeare may have been right when he put the words 'the evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones' in the mouth of Mark Antony: but let's not jump to this gloomy conclusion on our SF too soon. Much that is good has been done and is still being done today: as those many, but silent, senior officers and agency chiefs that have directed many special operations in many places could attest. Unlike those that choose to stand silent and plead issues of confidentiality or not wanting to upset an inquiry, I am prepared to speak on behalf of serving and ex-members of the UK Special Forces who have been in touch with me following the latest Panorama report. They are a truly valiant community and critical to the security of this country, especially at a time when threats are constantly mutating and growing. Unlike them, I did not serve in the Special Forces but I have worked with UKSF and our intelligence agencies all over the world. I was privileged to witness amazingly brave and professional men and women doing the right thing in the most demanding circumstances. I have also encountered the savage brutality of Al Qaeda and ISIS in Syria and everyone knows the evil that they do. Often it is only the work of the UKSF that keeps these threats away from us and our beloveds here at home. Lt Col Richard Williams, a Commanding Officer of the SAS in Iraq, is worried about the reputation and the future of his former command: 'I do fear that many in our country, upset by messy endings in Iraq and Afghanistan, rattled by the coincident and resonant rhythms of the Panorama accusations and the Haddon-Cave inquiry, may start to lose faith in our Special Forces. This will certainly be the case if no one breaks free of dated MOD confidentiality barriers to provide some context and insight into our recent Special Forces history to counterbalance this consistently hostile narrative.' If only the negative side of the story is told, our government could certainly reject the Special Forces' unique value, cripple their capability or even disband them. It has happened before. Despite the now famous achievements of the SAS in World War Two, not a single senior officer stood up for it once the war ended. This unique and ground-breaking capability was disbanded, with its many extraordinary veterans discharged and discarded. This was recognised as an error and the SAS was reformed again seven years later to conduct special operations in the jungles of Malaya. It has remained an essential part of the British order of battle ever since. I pray that we don't make that mistake again. The late General Mike Jackson, one of our greatest generals and a friend of mine with whom I spent a wonderful day in Kenya last year before he died, would not have sat silent today, I judge. I am sure that if he were still alive, he'd have stepped forward publicly to demand that Haddon-Cave does his necessary job unhindered, that we must stand ready to accept his conclusions and learn lessons from them; but also, that we must not forget how important Special Forces are to the defence of the United Kingdom and that they should not be weakened or dispensed with as in the past. And he would be right. Let's remember that these brave, skilled soldiers stand watch over us every day. As George Orwell pointed out, people sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf. Only last week, the men of B Squadron, 22 SAS helped our police deal with an Iranian terrorist threat in London. That's the same SAS squadron that dealt with the Iranian embassy siege in 1980. Let's not pre-judge them and offer our sincere support for all that they are doing to keep us safe.
