Russia accused of spying on UK's infrastructure
Britain's Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has accused Russia of spying on its critical infrastructure as part of possible plans to create ‘total chaos’ in the country that could ‘cause thousands and thousands of deaths’.
Williamson said that, in its research on UK power supply connections with Europe, Moscow appeared intent on sowing ‘panic’ and hurting Britain.
He said: ‘What they are looking at doing is they are going to be thinking 'how can we just cause so much pain to Britain?’ Damage its economy, rip its infrastructure apart, actually cause thousands and thousands and thousands of deaths, but actually have an element of creating total chaos within the country.’
Williamson, who only became defence chief in November 2017 after predecessor Michael Fallon resigned over allegations of misconduct, is reportedly pressuring Finance Minister Philip Hammond to allocate more money to defence and scrap further cuts to Britain's strained armed forces.
The minister said Russia acts in a way ‘that any other nation would see as completely unacceptable’.
Williamson added: ‘Why would they keep photographing and looking at power stations, why are they looking at the interconnectors that bring so much electricity and so much energy into our country.
‘They are looking at these things because they are saying these are the ways that we can hurt Britain.’
Earlier this week Fallon joined calls from the head of the army for more British military spending, amid warnings the country may struggle to match Russian battlefield capabilities.
Meanwhile the head of the National Cyber Security Centre said the country will likely face a major cyber-attack within two years.
Ciaran Martin said it was inevitable a hostile actor would launch an online attack aimed at crippling Britain's critical infrastructure, such as energy supplies, and it was lucky not to have fallen victim to such a strike already.
Williamson, who is tipped as a possible future ruling Conservative party leader, described his scenario planning as ‘the real threat that I believe the country is facing at the moment.’
You may also like
More from Defence Notes
-
![Israel defence ministry pushes ambitious spending plans for tanks, drones and KC-46 aircraft]()
Israel defence ministry pushes ambitious spending plans for tanks, drones and KC-46 aircraft
The procurement and acceleration production plans – some of which still await approval – across the air and land domains will aim to strengthen the operational needs of the Israel Defense Forces.
-
![US reforms its defence acquisition system to focus on commercial capabilities]()
US reforms its defence acquisition system to focus on commercial capabilities
This shift is planned to accelerate the procurement and fielding of capabilities. As part of this strategy, the US also intends modernise its regulations in an attempt to change its bureaucratic and risk-averse culture.
-
![Australia’s Exercise Talisman Sabre concludes after a series of firsts]()
Australia’s Exercise Talisman Sabre concludes after a series of firsts
More than 40,000 military personnel from 19 participating nations took part in the 11th iteration of the biennial Exercise Talisman Sabre multi-domain event which was held across Australia and in Papua New Guinea.
-
![US Africa Command targets logistic solutions]()
US Africa Command targets logistic solutions
AFRICOM is seeking IT systems and supply chain management solutions to enhance interoperability and standardise logistical processes in its area of responsibility.
-
![Rheinmetall sales up by almost a quarter on wave of German spending]()
Rheinmetall sales up by almost a quarter on wave of German spending
Germany’s Rheinmetall released its 1H 2025 results on 7 August, continuing the strong growth of recent years. A particular highlight of the result’s presentation was the Skyranger air defence system for which the company is predicting sales of about US$8.2 billion from the German Government before the end of the year.
-
![Defence companies continue to ride procurement wave]()
Defence companies continue to ride procurement wave
Vehicle and technology companies are reporting substantial growth compared to the first half of 2024. Italy’s Fincantieri saw revenues jump 24% for the first half of the year compared to 2024 and Thales up 6.8% for the same period. General Dynamics reported second quarter revenue growth of 8.9% for the second quarter compared to last year and MilDef reported organic order intake growth of 58%.
