As Kremlin-London relations plummet to an all-time low over Ukraine, an ex-government terrorism adviser has warned there could be worse to come over UK failing to avenge previous attacks
The jamming of a British RAF flight carrying the defence secretary was a warning from Russia that there may be ‘worse to come,’ according to senior security sources.
John Healey was flying near the Russian border after visiting UK forces in Estonia when Moscow’s spooks launched an electronic attack on the plane.
Although the crew was quickly able to switch to an alternative navigation system for the three hour flight, smartphones and laptops were unable to connect to the internet.
And the flight’s GPS signal was disabled for the duration in an irresponsible operation probably committed by one of the Kremlin’s intelligence agency cells.
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Now, former adviser to the British government on terrorism and security Colonel Richard Kemp, who commanded UK forces in Afghanistan, told the Daily Mirror : “It is hard to know what they will do next but Russia has launched attacks in the UK using nerve agents and sabotage operations against supplies to Ukraine.
“It is doing this as a sign that they think the UK is weak and it it unlikely they would do it to America even though they regard the States as its biggest enemy.
“As a junior partner to America, perhaps to a lesser degree over Iran, Russia clearly considers the UK weak as it has not reacted to being fired upon when Iranian forces launched drones against a UK base in Cyprus.
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“It is probably a sign worse could come from Russia and who knows what they will attempt to do next as they seem to feel they can get away with it. This is yet another step in Russia’s apparent emboldenment as it believes the UK to be weak and that’s what bullies do.”
The RAF plane was hit by the electronic attack on Thursday.It is not known if Mr Healey was deliberately targeted, but the flight path of the Dassault Falcon 900LX aircraft was visible on tracking websites.
Passengers on board were told the plane could still operate safely despite the interference. The ability to mess with GPS – the system we use to navigate day in, day out – has become a routine part of modern war, and incidents have routinely been linked with Russia.
Relations between the UK and Moscow have reached rock bottom since the Ukraine invasion in February 2022 and the 2018 Salisbury Novichok attack. In 2018 a Russian special forces team arrived in the UK and attempted to poison former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his 33 year-old daughter Yulia.
Both survived the attempted assasination with Novichok nerve agent but a policeman was also made seriously ill and local woman Dawn Sturgess died after finding the poison. Two police officers were treated for possible minor symptoms, said to be itchy eyes and wheezing, while a third, Detective Sergeant Nick Bailey, who had been sent to Sergei Skripal’s house, was in a serious condition.
The attack happened on March 4 and although seriously ill the father and daughter survived. But on June 18 Ms Sturgess, 44, and partner Charlie Rowley, then 45, were rushed to hospital after he found a perfume bottle and gave it to her.
She had sprayed herself but the bottle contained Novichok and she died on July 8. An inquiry into the attack revealed there was enough Novichok in the bottle to ‘kill thousands.’
Nerve agents are highly toxic chemicals that prevent the nervous system from working properly and can be fatal. They can take different forms – including powder and gas – but tend to be a liquid, which can seep through the skin.
“Novichok” means “newcomer” in Russian and refers to a group of advanced nerve agents which were developed by the former Soviet Union in the 1970s and 1980s.
The chemicals are extremely effective in very small quantities and need to be transported in tightly sealed containers by someone wearing protective clothing.
