UK picking apart Russian army vehicles captured in Ukraine to learn their secrets
The UK is picking apart Russian armoured vehicles captured in Ukraine to learn more about how to defend against any future attack, Britain’s military chief has revealed.
Admiral Sir Tony Radakin also told Sky News that the war in Ukraine had been a “wake-up call” for his forces, requiring them to be faster and take more risk when arming themselves.
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Offering his perspective, Ben Wallace, the outgoing defence secretary, described Ukraine as a “battle laboratory” for Ukrainian troops and their Western allies as they experiment with new weapons and technology to fight Vladimir Putin’s invaders.
Read more: Ben Wallace: ‘It’s been a long slog… I’m happy to go’
The minister – who announced at the weekend that he would be stepping down from government at the next reshuffle – also defended a controversial decision to stick with a plan to reduce Britain’s army to 73,000 troops despite a land war raging in Eastern Europe.
Mr Wallace signalled to journalists that reversing the move by regrowing the force to 82,000 would cost £5bn to ensure the new soldiers were properly armed and housed, adding: “Or am I going to give them pitchforks?”
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace
The defence secretary is set to unveil a refreshed blueprint for the shape and size of the Armed Forces on Tuesday – drawn up in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
But the Defence Command Paper 2023 Refresh will not include any new money even after mounting concern among some commanders about the need to accelerate plans to rebuild and modernise the army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force following decades of cuts.
Instead, the document will outline different priorities, such as a focus on greater war-fighting resilience with the reallocation of £2.5bn of the defence budget to replenishing stockpiles of weapons and ammunition.
Admiral Radakin, chief of the defence staff, said the war in Ukraine was “a wake-up call for us to be faster with our acquisition, to be more bold with the kit that we introduce – particularly when we’re in a technological race – to be more aggressive in terms of how we look after our own nation and to strengthen our resilience”.
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Defence Minister Ben Wallace says he will stand down at the next election.
Asked about what the UK was learning from examining captured Russian military vehicles from Ukraine, Admiral Radakin said: “It’s really important because we’re in a club of nations that when we get hold of Russian kit or other nations’ kit that might be a danger to us in the future, we share that knowledge.”
He said: “But we also have the scientists that unpick the detail that another nation might have to a really forensic level, and that helps us to understand: how does their equipment work? How can we defeat it? How can we have even better armour? How can we disrupt their communications? How can we ensure that we can penetrate their defences?
“And that’s what we do.”
The defence chief and Mr Wallace were speaking at Wellington Barracks in London at an event to discuss the command paper.
Both men were stood outside near to a large, beige-coloured military vehicle, fitted with a launchpad for anti-tank missiles that previously had only been fired from aircraft.
The “WOLFRAM” is an example of British innovation at speed prompted by the war in Ukraine.
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Sky’s Diana Magnay explains what we know so far about the Crimean bridge explosion.
In the early days after Russia’s full-scale invasion last year, British industry specialists and defence scientists wondered whether they could adapt the Brimstone anti-tank missile – typically launched from fast jets and drones – to be fired off the back of a pickup truck – plentiful in Ukraine.
Over the course of a single weekend, with the help of a Toyota vehicle, a generator from B&Q, a borrowed laptop and some clever computer codes, they had come up with a concept. Within a matter of a few weeks, the missile was on the battlefield in Ukraine.
Admiral Sir Tony Radakin
Mr Wallace said Ukraine’s “thirst to survive” meant Kyiv has scrapped peacetime rules and regulations to trial new weapons and modifications offered by its allies. This innovation was also benefitting Ukraine’s allies.
“They’ve had to take risk and experiment on things they might not know work or not, and they have become a battle lab for their own forces, and that showed us the way,” the defence secretary said.
“I regret the circumstances that it had to happen, but it has shown the way about how things have to be done in the 21st century in a new battlefield.”
Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield has resigned from the Labour Party.
The 53-year-old MP is the first to jump ship since the general election and in her resignation letter criticised the prime minister for accepting thousands of pounds worth of gifts.
She told Sir Keir Starmer the reason for leaving now is “the programme of policies you seem determined to stick to”, despite their unpopularity with the electorate and MPs.
In her letter she accused the prime minister and his top team of “sleaze, nepotism and apparent avarice” which are “off the scale”.
“I’m so ashamed of what you and your inner circle have done to tarnish and humiliate our once proud party,” she said.
Rosie Duffield. Pic: UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/Handout via Reuters
Sir Keir has faced backlash after a Sky News report revealed he had received substantially more freebies than any other MP since becoming Labour leader.
Since December 2019, the prime minister received £107,145 in gifts, benefits, and hospitality – a specific category in parliament’s register of MPs’ interests.
Ms Duffield, who has previously clashed with the prime minister on gender issues, attacked the government for pursuing “cruel and unnecessary” policies as she resigned the Labour whip.
Read more:
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She criticised the decision to keep the two-child benefit cap and means-test the winter fuel payment, and accused the prime minister of “hypocrisy” over his acceptance of free gifts from donors.
“Since the change of government in July, the revelations of hypocrisy have been staggering and increasingly outrageous,” she said.
“I cannot put into words how angry I and my colleagues are at your total lack of understanding about how you have made us all appear.”
Ms Duffield also mentioned the recent “treatment of Diane Abbott”, who said she thought she had been barred from standing by Labour ahead of the general election, before Sir Keir said she would be allowed to defend her Hackney North and Stoke Newington seat for the party.
Her relationship with the Labour leadership has long been strained and her decision to quit the party comes after seven other Labour MPs were suspended for rebelling by voting for a motion calling for the two-child benefit cap to be abolished.
“Someone with far-above-average wealth choosing to keep the Conservatives’ two-child limit to benefit payments which entrenches children in poverty, while inexplicably accepting expensive personal gifts of designer suits and glasses costing more than most of those people can grasp – this is entirely undeserving of holding the title of Labour prime minister,” she said.
Ms Duffield said she will continue to represent her constituents as an independent MP, “guided by my core Labour values”.
UK
King Charles hails ‘uniquely special’ Scotland as it marks Holyrood milestone – before being hugged by woman
The King has paid tribute to Scotland as a “uniquely special place” for the Royal Family as he marked the 25th anniversary of the Scottish parliament.
At the ceremony to commemorate a quarter of a century since parliament opened at Holyrood, the King said: “Speaking from a personal perspective, Scotland has always had a uniquely special place in the hearts of my family and myself.
“My beloved grandmother was proudly Scottish, my late mother especially treasured the time spent at Balmoral, and it was there in the most beloved of places, where she chose to spend her final days.”
He said we are all “united by our love of Scotland”, paying tribute to its “natural beauty”, “strength of character”, “diversity of its people”, “passions and frequently deeply held beliefs”.
“From the central belt to the north Highlands, across the islands in Ayrshire, in the Borders, the cities, towns and villages, all the coastal communities, who I wonder, could not fail to be moved by this complex Caledonian kaleidoscope?,” he asked as presiding officer Alison Johnstone and the Queen sat beside him.
After he gave the speech, the King was hugged by a member of the public – who said she did so “because of him being unwell”.
The 75-year-old was diagnosed with cancer in February but has since returned to public duties.
Yvonne Macmillan, 59, from East Renfrewshire, attended the anniversary ceremony with her husband Russell who is registered blind and chosen as a “local hero” for work in their area.
“I asked him if he was feeling better and if I could give him a hug. I actually said to him: ‘Can I hug you?’,” she said.
“As I hugged him I said, ‘God bless you’, so it was like God giving him a hug.”
The King listens to the presiding officer of the Scottish parliament at Holyrood. Pic: PA
The Queen sits alongside the King as he makes his speech on Saturday. Pic: PA
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While Sir Tony Blair’s Labour government legislated for Scottish devolution in 1997 – parliament officially opened at Holyrood on 1 July 1999.
The King has made six visits to the parliament since 1999 – while his mother Queen Elizabeth II made 10 visits during her lifetime.
The King arrives at the Scottish parliament on Saturday. Pic: PA
Scottish First Minister John Swinney is one of a number of MSPs who have been at Holyrood since the start of devolution.
He said in his own speech in Edinburgh on Saturday that the parliament has “placed itself at the very heart of the nation”, describing it as a “vessel of enlightenment, invention and creativity”.
The King shakes hands with First Minister John Swinney in Edinburgh on Saturday. Pic: PA
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The SNP’s Christine Grahame is another MSP who has been there since the start.
“Free tuition, free prescriptions, game-changing policies to tackle child poverty, the ban on smoking, the baby box, ScotRail back in public ownership – none of this would have been possible without the Scottish parliament and the strength of our commitment to self-determination,” she said on Saturday.
The King said the devolved parliament has the ability to “touch and to improve the lives of so many individuals”.
Former first ministers Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf take a selfie as they wait for the King. Pic: PA
But he added that “there remains much more to be done” for Scotland, the rest of the UK, particularly with regards to climate change.
“Let this moment therefore be the beginning of the next chapter,” he told those assembled.
“The achievement of the past and the commitment shown in the present give us the soundest basis for confidence in the future.”
A moped riding phone thief was caught red-handed after police tracked the device down hours after he snatched it from a woman’s hand.
CCTV footage released by police showed a masked moped rider mount the pavement in Croydon, south London, to swipe a phone from a woman’s hand on 6 March, while another victim had theirs stolen while they waited for a bus an hour later.
Amari Scott, 20, looked surprised when confronted by officers inside a shop, where he was found with two mobile phones.
Amari Scott was caught red-handed. Pic: Met Police
“We’ve just had a moped rob a mobile phone off the pavement and the phone is pinging in this location,” one of the officers told him in body-worn camera footage before Scott was handcuffed and led away.
Police also recovered a stolen motorbike and Scott, from Sutton, south London, was later jailed for four years.
Two teenagers who committed four robberies in the space of just half an hour were also arrested as part of a crackdown in Croydon.
Aged 16 and 17, the teens were issued with referral orders after pleading guilty to charges of robbery, attempted robbery and attempted grievous bodily harm.
Amari Scott was jailed for four years. Pic: Met Police
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They were behind a spree of eight robberies across Croydon and nearby Bromley, including four within 30 minutes on the morning of 5 August.
Their crimes, which included the knife point robbery of a rough sleeper outside Croydon library, were caught on CCTV.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
One of the teenagers tried to discard a knife before she was arrested after a foot chase, telling officers: “The knife wasn’t mine”.
The other ran away, leaving a knife and his bag, but was lying in bed at home when he was arrested shortly after.
Two teenagers committed four robberies in 30 minutes. Pic: Met Police
The Metropolitan Police said officers are intensifying efforts to tackle robbery and theft, encouraging victims to report incidents as they happen to increase the chances of catching the criminals.
Chief Inspector James Weston said: “We understand the impact that robbery has on victims – it is invasive and frightening.
“That’s why our teams are working so hard to deter and catch offenders to reassure our local community.
“Thanks to the hard work of officers, our partners and community grassroots organisations, we are stepping up our efforts and tackling the issues that matter most to the people of Croydon.”
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