Defence secretary reveals Putin’s ‘failed operation’ in sea north of UK

BREAKING

Speaking to reporters, Healey revealed the UK and allies tracked a Russian attack submarine and two spy subs in the North Atlantic, close to vital cable and pipeline infrastructure.

A Royal Navy warship and P8 marine patrol aircraft were involved in the UK operation to “track and to deter any malign activity” by the Russian subs.

Healey added that there has been no evidence that infrastructure has been damaged, but that the UK and its allies are seeking further verification on this.

The defence minister clarified that the Russian vessels were not close to shore, but in "our wider waters in and out and around our exclusive economic zone".

"I'm making this statement to call out this Russian activity," he said.

"To President Putin, I say - we see you, we see your activity over our cables and our pipelines, and you should know that any attempt to damage them will not be tolerated and will have serious consequences."

"We will not tolerate any attempt to threaten our way of life," he continued.

"Putin's covert operation failed because this government is delivering our first duty - protecting Britain," he added.

Healey explained why sea bed infrastructure was a "prime target" for adverseries.

Pipelines on the sea bed provide around half of the gas that heats homes in the UK, as well as 99 per cent of international telecoms and data traffic. They are also responsible for billions of pounds worth of trade every day.

Healey said the Russian operation occurred “while the eyes of many were trained on the Middle East” due to the war in Iran.

"I'm pretty clear that Putin would want us to be distracted by the Middle East," Healey told reporters.

"What I'm setting out today demonstrates that we are not just exposing his covert operation, but we are saying to him that we recognise Russia as the primary threat to the UK and to NATO, and that we will not take our eyes off Putin, whilst at the same time we act to protect our British interests and our British allies in the Middle East."