The Government has been urged to improve security at UK ports after The i Paper revealed that two suspected Russian spies had slipped into the country on cargo ships.
Earlier this year, two suspected spies entered Britain via docks at Torquay, Middlesbrough and Grangemouth. Once ashore, they visited areas close to military bases and critical infrastructure, a cache of intelligence shows.
Arriving on commercial cargo ships enabled them to take advantage of “less rigorous” border checks, according to experts. Neither ship that the pair travelled on was Russian-flagged, nor do they appear on global lists tracking Russia’s sanctioned “shadow fleet” — a network of vessels known for concealing ownership and identity to move restricted goods.
Reacting to the investigation, Defence Secretary John Healey said this was “yet another case” of “potential espionage” carried out by Russia on British soil, adding that it shows Moscow’s aggression “is not confined to Ukraine”.
“This is a question of being alert, tracking and knowing what Russia is doing, and calling it out when it’s necessary,” Healey said.
“Every one of the northern Nato countries will have similar stories. So we stand together.”
Healey said this was ‘yet another case’ of ‘potential espionage’ carried out by Russia (Photo: Robbie Stephenson/PA)The shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Alex Burghart, said the findings were “incredibly concerning” and called on the Government to “take action” and “secure our borders”.
The Conservative MP said: “The first duty of the government is to keep the public safe. Ministers must urgently take action to secure our borders, keep out those who wish to do us harm and ensure we are ready to face any threats to our security.”
On Thursday, further findings revealed that counter-terror police received reports of a suspicious man monitoring Lulworth firing range at the same time as a suspected Russian spy was in the area.
The local who alerted the police said a man with an Eastern European accent flew drones during the evening, ate boil-in-bag rations, and was seen climbing a tree to fix a small metal device to it, leading to speculation that it “resembled a transmitter”.
Steve Darling, the MP for Torbay, where one of the suspected spies is believed to have arrived into the country, said: “Hearing that Russian spies have entered through our ports, including in Torbay, is truly horrifying.
“I have already been in touch with the Torbay local authority to ask how they might work with national security agencies to strengthen security and screening measures at Torquay’s docks.
“As soon as I return to Parliament first thing on Monday, I will be pushing the national Government to act as well.”
UK Counter Terrorism Policing fielded a call about suspicious activity near Lulworth firing range in Dorset (Photo: Finnbarr Webster/Getty)Challenging the Government’s ability to provide security assurances in Parliament, Labour MP and Chair of the Joint Committee on National Security Strategy, Matt Western, said The i Paper’s findings underlined “the issue of Russian agents infiltrating our society”.
He asked security minister Dan Jarvis to confirm that he is working with all departments to assure the British public of their safety and security.
Jarvis replied: “The point that he makes about the coverage in The i Paper I can give him the assurances that he seeks, and tell him and the House [of Commons] that we take all national security threats incredibly seriously.”
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The security minister added that he was “absolutely determined” to make sure the UK is “the hardest possible target for our adversaries”.
In a separate statement to The i Paper, Western urged the Government to “ensure that it takes maritime security seriously”.
He said: “I’m deeply concerned by these findings. States hostile to the UK are making increasingly serious and sophisticated attempts to access our most sensitive information.
“We need reassurance that they are aware of the risks we currently face.”
Data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence shows that both cargo ships transporting the suspected spies had sourced their crew using firms known for hiring Russian seafarers.
Russian seafarers make up around 10 per cent of the maritime industry, making it an “ideal” cover for Moscow’s spies, according to a senior Nato official.
Spies are suspected of using falsified CVs and maritime work documents to secure legitimate postings on cargo ships, according to officials. This form of entry gives operatives plausible deniability and shields them from heightened scrutiny at airports.
The findings drew interest from across the house, with Reform’s Richard Tice saying that the security services must “maximise efforts” to keep Russian espionage “at bay”, while former Tory defence minister Tobias Ellwood said the incidents were “consistent with a pattern of Russian clandestine behaviour against Britain”.
He added: “This is greyzone warfare and Russia has us in its cross hairs.”
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