Latest news with #spyunit
The Sun
01-08-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Labour plot to silence migrant hotel critics EXPOSED – ‘spy unit' crack down on social posts slamming ‘2-tier' policing
A GOVERNMENT "spy unit" has been used by Labour in a plot to crack down on social media critics. Whitehall officials have allegedly been flagging posts which criticise migrant hotels, immigration and "two-tier" policing. 6 6 Emails from last August - during the height of the Southport riots - have exposed exchanges between civil servants and major tech firms, including TikTok. Conversations show members of the Government's National Security and Online Information Team calling on the social media giants to "assess" certain videos and content online. The same team also enforced lockdown rules during the Covid pandemic. One particular post, revealed by The Telegraph, called for greater transparency on the location of migrant hotels. Another highlighted post pointed to "two-tier policing", accusing cops of treating white protesters more harshly than others during last year's riots. It comes as protests outside asylum hotels are continuing to heat up, with crowds gathering in the likes of Norwich, Leeds and Bournemouth. A Government spokesman said: 'Free speech is a cornerstone of our democracy. The Online Safety Act protects it. "Platforms have a duty to uphold freedom of expression, and the Act places no curbs whatsoever on what adults can say and see on the internet - unless it is something that would already be illegal, offline. 'The Government has no role in deciding what actions platforms take on legal content for adults – that is a matter for them, according to their own rules. 'However we make no apologies for flagging to platforms content which is contrary to their own terms of service and which can result in violent disorder on our streets, as we saw in the wake of the horrific Southport attack.' Deputy PM Angela Rayner warned the Cabinet last week that the Government must step in to address "real concerns" about immigration. And plans for a new elite team of cops tasked with monitoring social media for anti-migrant posts emerged earlier this week. They were spotted in a letter to MPs by Dame Diana Johnson, policing minister. Detectives would be handpicked from forces across the UK to take part in the new programme amid fears of rioting as the small boats crisis escalates. The division, overseen by the Home Office, would look to "maximise social media intelligence" gathering after multiple forces were slammed for their response to last year's migrant unrest. The National Internet Intelligence Investigations team would work out of the National Police Coordination Centre (NPoCC) in Westminster. The NPoCC provides the central planning for forces across the UK in terms of "nationally significant protests" and civil disorder. However, critics have labelled the social media policing as "disturbing" and questioned if they further restrict freedom of speech. Speaking on the plans, Dame Diana Johnson said the Government was "carefully considering recommendations" made by the Commons home affairs committee. 'This team will provide a national capability to monitor social media intelligence and advise on its use to inform local operational decision-making," she added. Dame Diana was responding to an inquiry by the committee into cops' handling of riots last summer. It had recommended setting up a new policing system with 'enhanced capacity to monitor and respond to social media at the national level'. Tory councillor Raymond Connolly's wife Lucy was jailed for 31 months last October after posting comments on her X account. The posts were made just hours after evil Axel Rudakubana murdered three girls in the Merseyside town on July 29 last year. Ms Connolly shared a call to arms following the deaths of Bebe King, six, nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, last July. The 41-year-old childminder wrote: "Mass deportation now, set fire to all the f****** hotels full of the b******* for all I care... "If that makes me racist, so be it." Posts wrongly claimed monster Rudakubana was a Muslim asylum seeker when he was actually born in Cardiff and raised Christian. Ms Connelly's punishment sparked fury across the political divide. Furious Brits noted that despite the former child minder quickly deleting her post, she remains in prison while paedos such as Hugh Edwards escaped jail time. A record number 25,000 people have come to the UK on small boats this year, with 898 arriving on just Wednesday alone. Reform UK leader Nigel Farage slammed the fresh data, saying: "This means more hotels, costs and more people who should not be here. "The public have had enough." The figure is up 51 per cent on this point last year, and is 73 per cent higher than in 2023. 6 6 6
The Sun
11-05-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Inside Putin's shady new spy unit dubbed ‘KGB 2.0' wreaking havoc on West despite Trump peace talks
RUSSIA has unleashed a shadowy new spy unit tasked with sabotage, cyber attacks and assassinations across Europe, Western intelligence officials say. The Department of Special Tasks - or SSD - is believed to be behind covert missions straight out of a Cold War thriller. 4 4 4 That includes botched assassination plots, explosive-laden aircraft, and cyber strikes designed to throw Western powers off balance. Intelligence sources believe the SSD was created in 2023, forged in the fires of the Ukraine war as Moscow ramped up its war against the West. Dr Lance Hunter, a professor of international relations and intelligence expert at Augusta University, explained this isn't just another Russian intel unit. He said it is Frankenstein 'KGB 2.0' — stitched together from multiple agencies and turned into a force that can strike anywhere, anytime. Dr Hunter told The Sun: "The SSD can be viewed somewhat similarly to the KGB under the Soviet Union. "However, the SSD employs modern tactics such as cyber operations and operates within Russia's larger military intelligence structure. "It attempts to consolidate different elements of Russia's intelligence services, often coordinating with and operating alongside other Russian special unit forces." Dr Hunter added the SSD operates out of GRU's infamous headquarters in Moscow - dubbed "the Aquarium" - and is thought to include veterans from some of Russia 's most audacious black ops. The unit has been linked to a string of high-stakes plots, including a failed hit on the CEO of a German arms company and a scheme to plant incendiary devices aboard DHL cargo planes, the WSJ reports. The Kremlin sees the West as fair game following attacks on its turf - ranging from the Nord Stream pipeline blasts to the assassinations of key officials inside Russia, Ukrainian outlet Pravda reports. Beaming Putin greets Trump envoy with open arms after tyrant IGNORED Don's order to 'STOP' civilian blitzes on Ukraine With its usual flair for deniability, the Kremlin has denied any involvement in SSD operations. James Appathurai, Nato's deputy assistant secretary general for hybrid and cyber, warned: 'Russia believes it is in conflict with what it calls 'the collective West' and is acting accordingly—right up to threatening us with nuclear weapons.' The SSD is believed to have swallowed up several rival factions within Russia's sprawling spy network. That includes powers previously held by the FSB and GRU Unit 29155—the same outfit blamed for the 2018 poisoning of Sergei Skripal on British soil. But this time, the playbook has evolved. Dr Hunter explained the SSD blends old-school spycraft with modern tactics like cyber warfare and sabotage. Their agents are trained to move silently, strike hard, and vanish without a trace. And when something goes boom and no one knows who did it—chances are, it's them. "The SSD is made up of well-trained operators and undercover agents who are selected based on their ability to maneuver secretly in other countries," Dr Hunter said. "The unit often targets countries that support Ukraine or oppose Russia, including military assets, political dissidents, and infrastructure. "It also frequently uses techniques that are difficult to track, employing numerous forms of offensive cyber operations to weaken its targets." The SSD can be viewed somewhat similarly to the KGB under the Soviet Union. Dr Lance Hunterintelligence expert Their three-pronged mission? Assassinations, infiltration, and recruitment. SSD agents are reportedly targeting Western universities and companies, while also poaching foreign operatives from countries aligned with Moscow, such as Serbia and parts of the developing world, according to the WSJ. They also oversee Senezh—Russia's elite special ops training facility—turning out hardened operatives ready to deploy in hostile territory. The unit is run by Colonel General Andrei Averyanov, whose name is already infamous in espionage circles, and his deputy, Lieutenant General Ivan Kasianenko. Czech authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Averyanov over a 2014 explosion at an ammunition depot. The EU slapped sanctions on SSD operatives in December, accusing them of orchestrating bombings, cyberattacks, and even attempted coups across Europe. Meanwhile, the US has indicted multiple members and is offering a $10 million reward for information on five agents tied to cyberattacks against Ukraine. Activity peaked last summer — but things have gone suspiciously quiet since then. Despite a peak in SSD activity last summer, intelligence officials say Russian operations have recently slowed. 'The lull in activity could be aimed at creating diplomatic space for Moscow to negotiate with the new US administration,' the WSJ reported, citing two European intelligence chiefs. Dr Hunter added: "It is tough to predict what to expect from the SSD in the months and years ahead. "However, the success of Russian forces in Ukraine may have an impact on how Russia uses the SSD to project strength worldwide and attack rivals. "Highly publicised SSD attacks may prompt Western and NATO countries to increase their coordination in order to counter the SSD." What was the KGB? THE KGB — short for Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti or Committee for State Security — was the Soviet Union's main security, intelligence, and secret police agency. It operated from 1954 until the collapse of the USSR in 1991. A formidable and shadowy institution, it combined the roles of the CIA, FBI, and NSA all in one, and became one of the most powerful and feared arms of the Soviet state. Its duties were vast: it spied on foreign governments, ran covert operations abroad, cracked down on political dissidents and 'enemies of the state' at home, guarded state secrets, and ensured the loyalty of the population through a vast surveillance network. Inside the USSR, the KGB was notorious for its repression — including bugging homes, planting informants, arresting writers and activists, and sending thousands to gulags. Internationally, it trained and deployed spies, meddled in foreign elections, stole Western technology, and hunted defectors. During the Cold War, the KGB was locked in a ruthless game of espionage with its Western counterparts, particularly the CIA and MI6. After the Soviet Union fell in 1991, the KGB was officially dissolved. Its many functions were split among successor agencies — most notably the FSB (Federal Security Service), which remains Russia's internal security agency today and has retained much of the KGB's mindset, structure, and power.
