Security news

• Abandoning Ukraine means ‘infinitely higher’ long-term security costs, MI6 chief says

  29-11-2024 15:30
  
  If Putin allowed to reduce Ukraine to vassal state ‘he will not stop there’, Richard Moore says in plea to TrumpAbandoning Ukraine would jeopardise British, European and American security and lead to “infinitely higher” costs in the long term, the head of MI6 has warned in a speech that amounted to a plea to Donald Trump to continue supporting Kyiv.Richard Moore, giving a rare speech, said he believed Vladimir Putin “would not stop” at Ukraine if he was allowe
  
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• ‘Pick and mix of horror’ online pushes young people to violence, UK police chief says

  18-12-2024 19:27
  
  Counter-terrorism leader says there is often no ideology behind ‘grotesque fascinations’ with extreme contentMore young people, including children aged 10, are viewing a “pick and mix of horror” on the web that pushes them towards violence, a UK counter-terrorism leader has said.Deputy assistant commissioner Vicki Evans of the Metropolitan police, the senior national coordinator for counter-terrorism, said the nature of radicalisation had changed and warned of a “ra
  
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• Young terrorism suspects could avoid prosecution in plan for diversion scheme

  17-12-2024 20:41
  Minister hope plan will deter young people from extremism amid rise in arrests of under-18s for offencesYoung terrorism suspects could avoid prosecution if they agree to a diversion scheme, in a new government plan to cope with the post-lockdown surge in youngsters drawn to violent extremism.The youth diversion orders are part of a host of changes announced by the Labour government, including a new tsar to ensure Prevent – the official scheme to deter people from terrorism – is as ef
  
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• MPs consider naming Chinese ‘spy’ linked to Prince Andrew

  15-12-2024 21:16
  Allegations raise calls for caution in UK over bid to re-establish China linksMPs fear the government is moving too fast to re-establish UK-China relations as some consider naming the alleged spy who used his relationship with Prince Andrew to get access to the heart of the British establishmentMinisters will come under pressure this week to set a timeline to revive the foreign influence registration scheme (FIRS), which had been delayed until next year, and to put China on the enhanced category
  
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• Who is H6, the Chinese businessman with links to Prince Andrew?

  15-12-2024 18:49
  What do we know about former civil servant who some claim is regarded as a close confidant of the Duke of York?A Chinese businessman who some have claimed is regarded as a close confidante of the Duke of York lost his appeal against a decision to bar him from entering the UK on national security grounds. Known only as H6, who is he and what are his links to Prince Andrew? Continue reading...
  
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• Prince Andrew ‘invited alleged Chinese spy to Buckingham Palace’

  14-12-2024 16:30
  Businessman known as H6 also reportedly entered St James’s Palace and Windsor Castle at duke’s invitationA businessman accused of being a Chinese spy was invited to Buckingham Palace and other royal residences by the Duke of York, it has been reported.The man – who was banned from Britain by the government on national security grounds – visited Buckingham Palace twice, and also entered St James’s Palace and Windsor Castle at the invitation of Andrew, the Times repor
  
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• Prince Andrew says he ‘ceased all contact’ with alleged Chinese spy after government advice

  13-12-2024 22:18
  
  Statement from the Duke of York says he met the businessman through ‘official channels’ and ‘nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed’The Duke of York has said he “ceased all contact” with the businessman accused of being a Chinese spy after receiving advice from the government.Prince Andrew met the individual through “official channels” with “nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed”, a statement from his office said. Continue
  
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• Photos of Birmingham DHL fire suggest device could have downed plane

  10-12-2024 19:50
  Images consistent with fire from magnesium-based device, suspected to be part of Russian sabotage plotPhotographs of the fire caused by a suspected Russian incendiary device at a DHL facility in Birmingham in July have backed up intelligence assessments that the blast was strong enough to have brought down a cargo plane.One image appears to show when the booby-trapped item, hidden in a massage device, caught fire. A distinctive bright light emerges from the top of a crate of parcels being moved
  
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• Will emergence of HTS in Syria raise level of global terrorism threats?

  09-12-2024 19:52
  
  Intelligence chiefs have to decisively analyse the risk posed by group once affiliated to islamists al-QaidaWhen Sir Richard Moore, the head of MI6, warned in a speech given 10 days ago that he had “never seen the world in a more dangerous state” Syria was mentioned just once. The context was that jihadist terrorism was on the retreat in the country, but after the lightning success of the rebel offensive, questions will inevitably be asked again.Intelligence chiefs are now having to
  
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• Politicians’ ‘inflammatory language’ part of failure to tackle extremism, UK report finds

  09-12-2024 11:10
  Report calls for ‘radical rethink’ of how ministers approach extremism, amid risk of declining trust in democracy and institutionsPoliticians have been criticised for using “inflammatory language” and peddling conspiracy theories in a report that finds government policies are failing to prevent extremism spreading and taking root in the UK.The report from Dame Sara Khan, a former counter-extremism commissioner, urges a “radical rethink” of how ministers tackle
  
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• MI5 forced to ‘pare back’ counter-terrorism work due to rogue states, says chief

  07-12-2024 00:28
  
  Ken McCallum says service must make ‘uncomfortable choices’ as it faces more aggression from Russia, China and IranMI5 has had to “pare back” its counter-terrorism focus because of the growing threat from Russia and other hostile states, the security agency’s boss has said.Ken McCallum, the director general of MI5, said the agency has to look at its “finite” resources and make “uncomfortable choices”. Continue reading...
  
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• Daniel Khalife: the spy who blew his own cover – and exposed gaping holes in UK security

  30-11-2024 14:00
  
  When the ex-British army soldier was found guilty last week of passing secrets to Iran, it set off alarm bells over the military’s vulnerability to the threat of infiltrationOn 9 November 2021, a call was made to MI5’s public hotline for reporting national security concerns. The man did not give his name but identified himself as a soldier in the British army – and the concern he was reporting was himself.The anonymous caller told the UK’s domestic security service he had
  
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• Russia behind 'staggeringly reckless' sabotage in Europe, says head of MI6 – video

  29-11-2024 15:20
  
  The head of Britain’s foreign intelligence service said Russia was conducting a 'staggeringly reckless' sabotage campaign against Ukraine's western allies, and intelligence services were working to stop the consequences from spiralling out of control. Richard Moore said that were Vladimir Putin to succeed in reducing Ukraine to a vassal state, he would not stop there. He was speaking on Friday alongside Nicolas Lerner, the head of France’s external intelligence agency, the DGSE, at a
  
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• Terror suspect on FBI’s most wanted list arrested in north Wales

  26-11-2024 20:04
  Daniel Andreas San Diego, 46, was wanted in connection with two office building bombings in 2003One of the FBI’s most wanted fugitives has been arrested in the Welsh countryside.Daniel Andreas San Diego, 46, has been on the FBI’s “most wanted terrorists” list for almost two decades for his alleged involvement in two office building bombings in San Francisco in 2003. Continue reading...
  
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• Families of Manchester Arena bomb victims cannot continue suing MI5, judges rule

  22-11-2024 12:56
  More than 300 people had sued MI5 on grounds its failure to prevent the 2017 atrocity breached their human rightsThe families of the Manchester Arena bomb victims have said they are “extremely disappointed” after judges ruled they could not continue their legal action against MI5.More than 300 people affected by the suicide blast had sued the Security Service on the grounds that its failure to prevent the atrocity on 22 May 2017 breached their human rights. Continue reading...
  
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• PM must prioritise Birmingham pub bombings inquiry, say victims’ families

  21-11-2024 07:00
  
  Relatives of those killed in 1974 attack urge government on its 50th anniversary to set up statutory inquiryRelatives of the victims of the Birmingham pub bombings have said “England’s biggest unsolved mass murder of the 20th century” should be at the top of the government’s list as they renewed their calls for a public inquiry on the 50th anniversary of the atrocity.On 21 November 1974, 21 people were killed and 220 injured when bombs exploded in two Birmingham pubs, in
  
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• Russia’s updated nuclear ‘red line’ adds uncertainty: experts

  20-11-2024 16:23 via defencetalk.com
  
  DefenceTalkRussia’s new nuclear doctrine reflects its hopes to deter Ukraine’s allies from a greater role in the war by establishing red lines hedged with added ambiguity, experts say. Moscow warned on Tuesday that it would respond after Ukraine fired longer-range US missiles at its territory for the first time, as President Vladimir Putin issued a […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russias-updated-nuclear-red-line-adds-uncertainty-experts-80514/
  
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• Iraq accuses Israel of seeking pretext for future attack

  20-11-2024 16:10 via defencetalk.com
  
  DefenceTalkIraq has accused Israel of attempting to legitimize an attack on its territory, after the Israeli foreign ministry protested to the United Nations about attacks by Iraqi militants. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a loose alliance of armed groups backed by Iran, has claimed almost daily drone attacks targeting Israel in recent months, which they […]https://www.defencetalk.com/iraq-accuses-israel-of-seeking-pretext-for-future-attack-80510/
  
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• Russia vows response after Ukraine fires long-range US missiles

  20-11-2024 16:00 via defencetalk.com
  
  DefenceTalkRussia warned on Tuesday that it would respond after Ukraine fired longer-range US missiles at its territory for the first time, as President Vladimir Putin issued a nuclear threat on the 1,000th day of the war. A senior official told AFP that a strike on Russia’s Bryansk region earlier on Tuesday “was carried out by […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russia-vows-response-after-ukraine-fires-long-range-us-missiles-80506/
  
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• Salisbury inquiry: novichok bottle may have been ‘re-sealed’ after poisoning

  19-11-2024 19:20
  
  Russian agents suspected of nerve agent attack may have used portable heat sealer during ‘missing 33 minutes’Two Russian agents suspected of carrying out the Salisbury nerve agent poisoning may have used a portable heat sealer to repackage a fake perfume bottle containing novichok during a “missing 33 minutes” when they vanished from CCTV cameras shortly after the attack, an inquiry heard.The police counter-terrorism chief who leads the investigation said it was possible
  
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• Salisbury novichok inquiry: container hunt like looking for ‘needle in haystack’

  14-11-2024 16:07
  
  Counter-terrorism police chief tells of difficulty ofsearch for vessel with poison after attack on Sergei SkripalHunting for the container of nerve agent used in the attack on the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal was like “searching for a needle in a haystack”, a counter-terrorism forensics chief has said.Keith Asman, the head of forensics and digital investigations for the police’s south-east region counter-terrorism unit, told the inquiry into the Wiltshire poisonings that o
  
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• ‘Minuscule’ amount of novichok could have been fatal, scientist tells inquiry

  13-11-2024 18:10
  
  Witness from Porton Down laboratory says ‘many lethal doses’ of nerve agent were applied to Sergei Skripal’s doorA “minuscule” amount of the nerve agent used in the attempted assassination of Sergei Skripal – as small as a sixth of a grain of salt – could have been enough to prove fatal, a government scientist has told an inquiry.The scientist, an expert in chemical and biological weapons, said “many lethal doses” of novichok were daubed on t
  
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• Tony Blair’s former chief of staff appointed PM’s national security adviser

  08-11-2024 18:59
  
  Jonathan Powell led talks on Chagos Islands in September and played key role in Good Friday agreementJonathan Powell, the former chief of staff to Tony Blair, has been appointed as Keir Starmer’s national security adviser in a further sign that leading figures from the New Labour era are returning to the government.The veteran former diplomat, who played a significant role in the Northern Ireland peace deal struck in 1998 and served Blair for a decade, will be responsible for advising on t
  
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• Incendiary device plot targeting UK may have been dry run for US and Canada

  04-11-2024 22:03
  Suspect DHL package bound for Britain that started fire in Leipzig possibly part of Russian plan to cause ‘mayhem’An incendiary device hidden in a DHL package that caught fire in Germany in July was due to be sent by air to the UK as part of a suspected Russian sabotage plot that may also have been a dry run for a similar attack on the US and Canada.The device, reported to have been secreted in shipments of massage pillows and erotic gadgets, started a fire on the ground in Leipzig t
  
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• Taiwan detects 37 Chinese aircraft near island

  04-11-2024 03:51 via defencetalk.com
  
  DefenceTalkTaiwan said it detected 37 Chinese fighter jets, drones and other aircraft near the self-ruled island on Sunday as Beijing carried out “long-distance” training flights. China has ramped up military activity around Taiwan in recent years as Beijing pressures Taipei to accept its claims of sovereignty over the island. The Chinese aircraft were spotted from […]https://www.defencetalk.com/taiwan-detects-37-chinese-aircraft-near-island-80498/
  
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• US bomber joins air drill with South Korea, Japan

  04-11-2024 03:47 via defencetalk.com
  
  DefenceTalkSouth Korea, Japan, and the United States on Sunday conducted a joint air drill involving a heavy bomber, Seoul’s military said, in response to North Korea’s latest long-range missile test. The exercise took place three days after Pyongyang launched one of its most powerful and advanced solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM), which experts say could […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-bomber-joins-air-drill-with-south-korea-japan-80494/
  
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• Revealed: English neo-Nazi who stabbed asylum seeker was serial stalker

  02-11-2024 15:13
  
  Terrorist Callum Parslow was previously jailed for sending 10 women sexually explicit and misogynistic messages, and targeted a former GB News presenterA neo-Nazi terrorist who was found guilty last month of the attempted murder of an asylum seeker is a prolific online stalker who had previously been jailed and referred to the Prevent counter-terrorism scheme, the Observer can reveal.Callum Parslow was convicted on 25 October of attempted murder after stabbing an asylum seeker at a hotel in Apri
  
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• China says holds first dual aircraft carrier drills in South China Sea

  31-10-2024 14:21 via defencetalk.com
  
  DefenceTalkChina has conducted its first military drills with its two operational aircraft carriers in the contested South China Sea, state media said Thursday. State media did not specify when the exercises with the Liaoning and Shandong vessels took place, though it said the broader naval mission had overlapped with public holidays that spanned late September […]https://www.defencetalk.com/china-says-holds-first-dual-aircraft-carrier-drills-in-south-china-sea-80489/
  
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• North Korea fires ICBM as US, Seoul slam Russia deployment

  31-10-2024 14:16 via defencetalk.com
  
  DefenceTalkNorth Korea said Thursday it had test-fired one of its newest and most powerful missiles to boost its nuclear deterrent, Kim Jong Un’s first weapons test since being accused of sending soldiers to Russia. Seoul had warned a day earlier that the nuclear-armed North was preparing to test-fire another intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) or even […]https://www.defencetalk.com/north-korea-fires-icbm-as-us-seoul-slam-russia-deployment-80484/
  
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• Russian defence ministry says held fresh nuclear drills

  30-10-2024 05:27 via defencetalk.com
  
  DefenceTalkRussia said Tuesday its army held fresh nuclear drills under the supervision of President Vladimir Putin, who recently called for changes to rules on the use of Moscow’s nuclear deterrent. Putin has raised the prospect of using nuclear weapons during Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine several times and last month suggested Russia broaden its rules on […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russian-defence-ministry-says-held-fresh-nuclear-drills-80479/
  
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