Britain 'behind curve' on Russia's deep-sea activities, ex-MP says

Britain is "behind the curve" in tracking Russia's deep-sea operations, an ex-minister has said after spy sensors targeting Royal Navy submarines were found in waters around the UK.

- Josh Halliday Pippa Crerar

Tobias Ellwood, a former defence and Foreign Office minister, called for a huge expansion of the navy's surveillance capability after it was revealed a number of Kremlin spy devices had been seized. He said the revelation, revealed by the Sunday Times, confirmed that Britain was "now in a greyzone war with Russia".

Vladimir Putin's regime is believed to have been trying to spy on the navy's four Vanguard submarines, which can carry nuclear missiles, with the sensors. The Sunday Times reported some of the devices had been located by the Royal Navy, while others had washed ashore.

Their discovery was deemed to be a national security threat, the newspaper reported, and it has not officially been confirmed.

The sensors are part of Putin's expansion of "greyzone" warfare - a campaign of surveillance and sabotage targeting key infrastructure.