As the country wonders whether Russia may have had a hand in fires deliberately started at properties linked to the Prime Minister, a report suggests that a Russian naval vessel may have fired warning shots near a yacht in the Channel.
The arson attacks already feel like something from the more sinister kind of spy novel. Now we may be dealing with a confrontation which, if not on the high seas, sits uncomfortably close to the UK’s shores.
Certainly, the Ministry of Defence is concerned enough to confirm it is “investigating reports of an incident in the Channel”. The Russian ship involved in the alleged incident is the frigate Admiral Grigorovich.
Shorts
This comes as John Healey, in charge of the Ministry of Defence until his resignation last week, reminded the House of Commons: “Nato has now said we must prepare for war with Russia within the next five years.” Healey spoke of an “age of hard power and rising threat. This is not the moment for calibration or incremental change.”
