BRITAIN must square up to Russia over its threats to undersea cables or risk a “catastrophic” attack a report by parliament has warned.
The military is “too timid” defending pipelines and seabed internet cables and must adopt a much more “muscular” approach, it said.
6
6
6
6
The report by Parliament’s National Security Strategy Committee called for “punitive consequences” for saboteurs that go beyond calling them names.
It warned: “Otherwise, aggressors that are content with implausible deniability can cause damage with minimal risk.”
It comes after Navy chief General Sir Gwyn Jenkins warned Russia’s sub-sabotage unit GUGI was “regenerating”.
The committee of 22 MPs and peers warned Russia was the “primary threat” capable of causing severe disruption to the UK.
They cited “numerous allegations” of Russia and China using proxy actors to sabotage subsea cables in the Baltic and Indo-Pacific.
They panned Labour’s former telecoms minister Chris Bryant for dismissing their concerns as “apocalyptic”.
The report said: “The Minister (Bryant) suggested that exploring the risks of a co-ordinated attack on subsea infrastructure was unhelpfully “apocalyptic”.
“We disagree. Focusing on fishing accidents and low-level sabotage is no longer good enough.”
The report warned the UK faces a “strategic vulnerability”.
Proper “defensive preparations” could reduce the chances of a sabotage attack, it added.
Sir David Omand, a former GCHQ spychief, warned Britain would be in Russia’s “crosshairs” in the event of a ceasefire in Ukraine.
He said: “We really must expect the Russians to pick on us.”
Professor Kevin Rowlands, from the Royal Navy’s Strategic Studies Centre, told the committee that Russia’s GUGI had over 50 vessels including submarines that could dive to 6,000 metres.
He raised fears over vessels deliberately dragging their anchors to sever seabed cables and saboteurs armed with axes cut cables on land.
He said: “Dragging an anchor over a well‑plotted cable is easy and deniable.
“Pre-positioning any timed charges is difficult and risky for whoever is doing that.
“Using divers is difficult and, again, is trackable.”
He added: “In the future, one-way uncrewed underwater vehicles are probably a way ahead for any adversary.”
The MoD said it was investing “in new capabilities to help protect our offshore infrastructure, using the latest technology”.
It said: “This includes through the UK-led reaction system Nordic Warden, to track potential threats to undersea infrastructure, the high-tech RFA Proteus and Atlantic Bastion – high tech sensors above and below the seas to track submarines.”
The Sun understands the advice came from lawyers paid by the Ministry of Defence to act on behalf of the SAS and its veterans.
6
6