Latest news with #sabotage
Telegraph
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Starmer defended protester who sabotaged military aircraft
Sir Keir Starmer defended a protester who sabotaged US bombers when he was a human rights barrister. Details of the case emerged hours after pro- Palestinian activists allegedly damaged military aircraft at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire. Footage posted online by Palestine Action on Friday morning showed two people inside the air base, with one riding an electric scooter up to an Airbus Voyager air-to-air refuelling tanker and appearing to spray paint into its jet engine. It has now emerged that the Prime Minister represented a defendant in a similar case in 2003. A group of anti-war protesters had broken into RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire to sabotage US bombers before they flew to Iraq. Sir Keir argued that while the actions were against the law, they were justified because they were trying to stop the planes from committing war crimes. Josh Richards, who was represented by Sir Keir, was cleared after a jury failed to reach a verdict. The revelation was first made by the Politico email newsletter. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch tweeted: 'Worth noting that Keir Starmer defended an activist who broke into an RAF base to set fire to aircraft. Starmer claimed his client was legally justified because it might stop a war crime. 'If he'd won that argument in 2004, what happened at Brize Norton would be perfectly legal.' Downing Street declined to comment, except to point out the 'cab rank' rule - under which barristers have no choice but to take the next case in the queue. There were six trials into the 'Fairford Five' who broke into the airbase in the build-up to the invasion of Iraq. Two were found guilty of causing criminal damage to American vehicles at the base. Two others were acquitted, while Mr Richards - defended by Sir Keir - was cleared after two juries failed to reach a verdict. On Friday morning, Sir Keir described the 'act of vandalism' by Palestine Action as 'disgraceful'. 'The act of vandalism committed at RAF Brize Norton is disgraceful,' he said. 'Our Armed Forces represent the very best of Britain and put their lives on the line for us every day. 'It is our responsibility to support those who defend us.'
Telegraph
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Sabotage at Brize Norton springs from a wider underlying problem
The attack on aircraft at RAF Brize Norton by members of Palestine Action resulted in serious damage to two Airbus Voyagers: extremely expensive aircraft leased under the £10 billion Air Tanker project. Had this been carried out by a foreign government, it would have been an act of war. As it is, it was sabotage and the Government will, rightly, proscribe Palestine Action as a terrorist group. To say that this was a failure of security is an understatement. At a time when major wars are raging in Ukraine and the Middle East, RAF bases should be on high alert. Terrorists acting for Iran and Russia are no less active here than elsewhere in Europe and our Armed Forces should be managing their security on that basis. But these saboteurs do not appear likely to be covert operatives despatched to these shores by organisations overseas. The fact is that there are large numbers of people resident here in Britain who support terrorism in various forms, as was made plain by the mass London marches in 'solidarity with Palestine' after the October 7 atrocities before Israel had made any response to them. That widespread empathy for terrorism is the underlying sickness. This damaging attack is merely a symptom of a wider Western malaise.
Telegraph
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
After the Brize Norton attack, Britain should be placed on a war footing
Many were astonished recently at Russia's inability to defend its military aircraft when Ukraine carried out drone strikes against them deep inside Russian territory. Well now the inadequacy of our own air base security has been exposed, although thankfully in a far less serious way. For now. RAF Brize Norton was attacked not by external forces but the enemy within. This was not a protest; it was a deliberate act of sabotage against military assets used to defend our country. What is shocking is that these saboteurs were able to access a highly defended base, put two air to air refuelling tankers out of action, and leave without being detected. That should not have happened at any time. But right now military bases should have been on a substantially heightened state of alert. Whether or not we are providing any assistance to Israel in its defensive operations against Iran, Tehran certainly believes we are. They see us as a key ally of Israel and also attribute to Britain a disproportionate level of influence over US actions. We are therefore a high priority target for Iranian terrorism. Don't forget only weeks ago seven Iranians were arrested here on allegations of preparing terrorist attacks and other security offences. And in 2015 our security service disrupted an Iranian-backed bomb plot on the outskirts of London. The threat from Tehran has significantly increased since the latest arrests, with Iran under attack and the ayatollahs desperate to find effective ways of hitting back at Israel and its allies. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has long positioned sleeper cells in European countries including the UK for precisely the situation they find themselves in now. This was a known specific threat back in the early 2000s, when I was working for the UK Joint Intelligence Committee. We don't know exactly their capabilities but it would be irresponsible not to assume that terrorist attacks in Britain could be initiated from Tehran at any time. The fact that the British Government has repeatedly refused to proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist organisation suggests a dangerous degree of complacency. That should have happened a long time ago and certainly should happen now. Beyond the very real and immediate threat from Iran there is Russia. Putin has identified Britain as its number one enemy in Europe. We have led the way in supporting Ukraine both economically and militarily. British intelligence and surveillance have been a critical element of Kyiv's operations against Russia. Donated British tanks and other armoured vehicles are in Ukraine now and our long range missiles have been used to attack Russian forces both inside Ukraine and on Russian sovereign territory. Furthermore, like Iran, Putin has previously ordered terrorist strikes on UK soil, including a nerve agent attack in Salisbury in 2018. Since then suspected Russian sabotage has been suspected here and cyber attacks carried out against government and private sector targets. Security, even of military bases, can never be 100 per cent; but this penetration of RAF Brize Norton by the Palestine Action activists, brazen enough to cross the airfield on electric scooters, shows the most serious shortcomings. What if they had been armed not with paint but explosives? Those planes could have been destroyed, not temporarily disabled, and airmen could have been killed. What we have seen amounts to an open invitation to even more serious saboteurs and terrorists to attack. The threat is going to get worse, not only from Iran and Russia, but also from people here who hate our country and want to cause us harm. The thousands of illegal immigrants pouring in on small boats, with no way to screen, document or control them, adds yet another dimension. All of Britain's military bases, as well as other critical targets, should immediately be placed on a war footing, where they should have been at least since we started supporting Ukraine and even more so since Iran came under attack.
Reuters
2 days ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Russian court sentences actor to 17 years in prison for railway sabotage
June 19 (Reuters) - A military court in Moscow sentenced a Russian man to 17 years in prison after finding him guilty of attempting to blow up a railway on behalf of a pro-Ukraine Russian paramilitary group, the TASS state news agency reported on Thursday. The defendant, Viktor Mosienko, who is a film and theatre actor, admitted guilt and repented in court, according to TASS. Russian news outlet reported that Mosienko had cited a desire to help Ukrainian children as a motive. Russian officials have linked pro-Ukraine sabotage groups with numerous attacks on aircraft and railways aimed at disrupting Moscow's war effort since the full-scale conflict began over three years ago. Prosecutions of those suspected of terrorism and sabotage in Russia have jumped, with 40% more terrorism cases sent to court in 2024 than the year before, or 429 in total, according to an Investigative Committee official cited by TASS. Investigators found that Mosienko, who is 63, had early in 2024 fallen in with the Freedom for Russia Legion, a group of Russians opposed to President Vladimir Putin who are fighting for Ukraine. Reuters was not able to contact the group, which Russia considers a terrorist organisation. Prosecutors said Mosienko had travelled from his home in southern Russia to the Belgorod region, bordering Ukraine, where authorities arrested him as he attempted to lay an improvised explosive device (IED) under a railway bridge. TASS reported, citing the indictment, that Mosienko had arrived to the site by taxi, dressed in a railway worker's vest and carrying a bunch of red balloons and a box of sweets, inside of which were six kilograms of explosives and a detonator. Reuters was not able to contact a lawyer for Mosienko.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Undersea cables vulnerable to Chinese and Russian sabotage
This is the network of critical underseas cables at the mercy of Chinese and Russian saboteurs - and the multiple ways they could be attacked. A new report has warned Britain remains 'woefully' underprepared for the threat of strikes on its maritime infrastructure in the face of growing aggression. The China Strategic Risks Institute (CSRI) looked at 12 incidents of alleged undersea cable sabotage between January 2021 and April 2025 in Europe and Taiwan. Out of the 10 cases where a suspect vessel was identified, eight were linked to China or Russia by flag or ownership. Report author Andrew Yeh said the involvement of Chinese ships in cable breakages in Europe and Russian ships in those near Taiwan indicated 'plausible' coordination. The Institute identified the UK as a 'likely target' for future Chinese-Russian 'grey zone' operations - a term used to describe the state between peace and open war. This map produced by MailOnline shows the dizzying extent of the UK's network of cables, which are used to transmit data used for everything from online shopping to banking, personal messages and government communications. As the term 'grey zone' suggests, acts of cable sabotage are usually intended to be deniable, and usually involve ships dragging their anchors or deploying fishing nets. But more aggressive methods are available, including the use of divers or remote-operated subs to lay explosives fitted with timers. The UK is the landing point for at least 60 undersea cable systems, including nine of the 15 undersea cables that link Europe to North America. Mr Yeh wrote in his report: 'Undersea cables underpin economic security and global prosperity in the digital age, carrying 99 per cent of intercontinental data traffic. 'Undersea cables are vital for both civilian and defence infrastructure, including future AI-powered technologies. 'As a key hub in Euro-Atlantic cable infrastructure, the UK is a likely target for future Russian and Chinese grey-zone operations – posing a new and complex challenge for its maritime defence and surveillance systems.' The analyst called for the UK to be 'clear-eyed and proactive' in addressing grey-zone threats to undersea infrastructure. He called for increased surveillance over critical cables, the publication of a blacklist of suspect vessels and the stockpiling of cable parts to allow for rapid repairs following acts of sabotage. The issue of undersea cables was mentioned in the recent Strategic Defence Review. It stated: 'Undersea pipelines and data cables are critical for sustaining daily national life. The maritime domain is increasingly vulnerable.' 'The Royal Navy must be prepared to deter maritime incidents similar to the sabotage of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and the cutting of undersea data cables in UK and international waters.' Since October 2023, at least 11 subsea cables in the Baltic have been damaged in suspected attacks. Last year, Finnish authorities took the unprecedented step of intercepting one of these ships, the Eagle S, and taking it back into its territorial waters. Eagle S is flagged in the Cook Islands but has been described by Finnish customs officials as part of Russia's shadow fleet of fuel tankers that state-run companies have used to circumnavigate sanctions. Its anchor was accused of causing damage to the Estlink-2 power cable, which takes electricity from Finland to Estonia across the Baltic Sea, after it went down just after noon on Christmas Day. Further incidents in the North Sea have seen cables running on the seabed damaged, while separately, Russian spy ships - including one called the Yantar - have been intercepted in the Channel while hovering over the communication lines. At a parliamentary committee hearing last month, MPs were warned that Britain had forgotten how important deep sea cables are to modern society. The robot will help deal with sabotage threats and clear unexploded ordnance, doing jobs that would normally put both divers and their vessels at risk. The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL), part of the Ministry of Defence, has made the device with industry partners in an aim to save lives at sea. Experts have incorporated or developed systems so the ROV can detect unexploded ordnance and remotely place explosive charges to enable safe neutralisation. Trials for the project funded by the Royal Navy have already taken place at Horsea Island in Portsmouth, Portland Harbour in Dorset, South Wales and in Norway.
