Inside the UK’s top-secret spy base preparing for war

Published

9 months ago

February 8, 2024

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The UK is living in “truly dangerous times” with the chance of “large-scale conflict” likelier than at any point in recent history, defence officials have warned.

Russia‘s war in Ukraine, Iran-linked violence in the Middle East and the potential for China to invade Taiwan are among the challenges that could spark a sudden escalation.

At the same time, new weapons developed by rival states are growing in lethality.

China has a “world-leading” arsenal of hypersonic missiles that can travel at least five times faster than the speed of sound, making them very difficult to destroy once launched, officials said.

They signalled the best way to defeat such a weapon – like the DF-17 or longer-range DF-27 ballistic missiles – would be to locate the launch sites inside China and take them out before they are fired.

The comments were made as a group of journalists was given rare access to a top-secret military spy base in Cambridgeshire.

RAF Wyton hosts one of the biggest intelligence analysis centres among Western allies inside a complex called the Pathfinder Building.

Running 24 hours a day, seven days a week, analysts and other experts work inside a giant, grey, windowless room with a high ceiling, about the size of an indoor football pitch.

Teams are divided into sections, seated around white, curved desks, each with computers and screens, while television monitors beam in live images from satellite and drone feeds from areas of interest around the world.

One official said it is the “biggest top secret floor plate” dedicated to intelligence analysis, specifically for a group of close allies known as the Five Eyes – the UK, the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Red, glowing digits from a line of digital clocks along one wall give a nod to the allies and other areas of interest, offering the time zones for Washington, Zulu (GMT), Stuttgart, Moscow, Canberra and Wellington.

The hall is one of several classified sites across the country used by Defence Intelligence, which comprises around 4,500 personnel in total – two-thirds military, one-third civilian.

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Staff are also deployed overseas on missions.

While not a bespoke agency, Defence Intelligence is the military-focused branch of the UK’s intelligence community, which also comprises MI6, MI5 and GCHQ.

A second official said demand for the work of military spies is the highest they have known it since at least Russia’s first attempt to invade Ukraine in 2014.

“I believe we are living in truly dangerous times,” the official said, noting that the task for Defence Intelligence is to provide “insight and foresight”.

Underlining the importance of this kind of input, the official said: “There won’t be time from a warning to making significant changes to be prepared for large-scale conflict.”

The official added: “We are in a pre-war situation… [We are] at a point when large-scale conflict is more likely than it has been in recent history.”

The comments came after General Sir Patrick Sanders, the outgoing head of the British Army, said last month that the UK public needs to be ready to fight in a future war.

In addition, Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, has cautioned about a “pre-war world”, though without announcing any change of policy to better prepare the nation, including civilians and industry, for the reality of what a future war would mean.

A third defence official offered a view of the threat picture facing the UK and its allies.

“We are generally seeing a world that is complex and increasingly interconnected and has more threats of instability and competition,” the official said.

Russia – nuclear-armed and seeking to expand – remains the most acute threat facing the UK and its allies, but officials said they are “very alive” to the challenge posed by China.

UK

Home secretary to announce extra £500m for neighbourhood policing

Published

2 hours ago

November 19, 2024

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Home secretary to announce extra £500m for neighbourhood policing

An extra £500m of additional funding will be given to neighbourhood policing, the home secretary is set to announce.

Yvette Cooper will also lay out plans for a new unit to improve the performances of police forces across the country to end the “postcode lottery” of how effectively crimes are dealt with.

The Home Office says the unit will directly monitor police performance in areas prioritised by the government, including tackling violence against women and girls and knife crime.

The home secretary will make the announcements in her first major speech at the annual conference of the National Police Chiefs’ Council and Association of Police and Crime Commissioners on Tuesday.

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Ms Cooper is expected to say: “Public confidence is the bedrock of our British policing model but in recent years it has been badly eroded, as neighbourhood policing has been cut back and as outdated systems and structures have left the police struggling to keep up with a fast-changing criminal landscape.

“That’s why we’re determined to rebuild neighbourhood policing, to improve performance across police forces and to ensure the highest standards are being upheld across the service.

“The challenge of rebuilding public confidence is a shared one for government and policing.

“This is an opportunity for a fundamental reset in that relationship, and together we will embark on this roadmap for reform to regain the trust and support of the people we all serve and to reinvigorate the best of policing.”

As well as the new government performance unit, ministers also hope to improve the relationship between the public and the police by standardising and measuring police response times – something that is not currently monitored.

In the aftermath of the summer riots, sparked by the Southport stabbings on 29 July, Ms Cooper said respect for the police needed to be restored after the “brazen abuse and contempt” shown by the perpetrators.

She said too often people feel “crime has no consequences” and that “has to change” as she promised to restore confidence in policing and the criminal justice system.

Dr Rick Muir, director of policing thinktank the Police Foundation, said: “A serious reform programme like this in policing is long overdue.

“Too often in the past, officers at the frontline have been let down by outdated technology, inadequate training and inefficient support services.

“Until these issues are addressed, the public won’t get the quality of policing they deserve.”

UK

Post Office Horizon Scandal: Four suspects identified by police

Published

5 hours ago

November 19, 2024

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Post Office Horizon Scandal: Four suspects identified by police

Four suspects have so far been identified by police investigating possible criminal charges in the Post Office scandal, Sky News has learned.

Sources have said that among the offences being considered are perverting the course of justice and perjury.

Hundreds of sub-postmasters were wrongly prosecuted for stealing from their branches between 1999 and 2015 after faulty Horizon software caused accounting errors.

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The Metropolitan Police is a so-called core participant in the Post Office public inquiry and has been monitoring and assessing material submitted.

It is expected that the number of suspects being investigated by police could rise in the next six to 12 months.

More than a million documents are believed to be being sifted through and the number of police officers investigating the scandal has also risen from 80 to 100, with work across every single police force.

It is not expected, however, that any charges will be brought before 2027/28, and that time frame could be extended.

A Sky News source said the number of suspects was seemingly “just a starting point”.

A meeting took place this weekend between more than 150 sub-postmasters, including Sir Alan Bates, and the Metropolitan Police.

Sir Alan said he had been told by officers that “it was going to take a few years” and that there are “no restrictions on how high investigations will take them”.

He also said the priority for sub-postmasters was financial redress and then, after that, victims will be “looking for people to be held to account”.

A Metropolitan police spokesperson said: “Yesterday [17 November] we met with Alan Bates and some of the affected sub-postmasters to provide a brief on our progress and next steps.

“Our investigation team, comprising around 100 officers from forces across the UK, is now in place and we will be sharing further details in due course.

“Initially four suspects have been identified and we anticipate this number to grow as the investigation progresses.”

UK

British Airways flights delayed after ‘technical issue’

Published

5 hours ago

November 19, 2024

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British Airways flights delayed after 'technical issue'

A “technical issue” at British Airways has delayed flights, reportedly for thousands of passengers.

Travel journalist Simon Calder said on X: “British Airways IT system failure is causing delays of 1-2 hours on many BA flights this evening… As delays build up I fear there will be cancellations tonight/tomorrow.”

In a statement on Monday evening, British Airways said flights were “currently operating, but are experiencing delays” and that its teams were working to “resolve a technical issue affecting some of our systems”.

Later they said it had been resolved: “Our teams worked hard to resolve an issue we experienced for a short time earlier this evening.

“We’ve apologised to customers for delays to their flights and ensured they were able to reach their destinations as planned.”

Earlier media reports suggested dozens of flights were grounded and that communications systems were affected.

One X user pictured people queueing on the tarmac in Verona, Italy. “What has happened to the nations airline? Not fit for purpose,” they said.

Replying to another X user BA said: “Our website is down. We are doing all we can to return online as soon as possible.

“Hopefully not too long before the Captain has his load sheet. Thanks for your understanding. Have a good journey when it is safe for you to be airborne.”

A spokesperson for Heathrow Airport said: “We are aware of a technical issue that British Airways are investigating, and we will be working with them to provide updates to passengers as soon as they are available. Heathrow systems are operating as normal.”

In June many British Airways (BA) flights in Heathrow were delayed by several hours by a “technical fault” with baggage handling.

BA said there had been a “temporary technical fault” which had disrupted its baggage system at the airport and had apologised for the problems it caused.