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Daily Mail
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE MoD is accused of 'sickening cover up' after calls for a public inquiry into Chinook crash that killed 29 people including MI5 spies
Defence chiefs have been accused of a 'sickening cover up' after calls to hold a public inquiry into a military helicopter crash that killed 29 people were snubbed. RAF Chinook ZD576 was flying dozens of British intelligence personnel from RAF Aldergrove in Northern Ireland to a conference at Fort George near Inverness when it crashed in foggy weather in the Mull of Kintyre on June 2 1994. All 25 passengers – personnel from MI5, British Army and the Royal Ulster Constabulary – were killed, along with the helicopter's four crew members. Furious families of the victims have pleaded for a public inquiry into the tragedy, after 'numerous concerns' were raised about the helicopters - which had been branded 'un-airworthy' by those who worked on them. But their latest effort, launched on the 31st anniversary of the disaster earlier this month, was rejected by the Ministry of Defence - sparking fury from grieving relatives, who accused military chiefs of 'continuing to deceive' them. Now, a former British spymaster has gone on the attack and accused the MoD of a 'cover up' and 'marking its own homework' in a furious broadside against top brass. Colonel Philip Ingram, who knew some of those killed in the disaster, told MailOnline: 'This is a truly sickening and disgraceful cover up by the MoD. 'There are enough questions around what has come out of any investigation to suggest there has been a cover up. 'Whether this is a mechanical failure, bad procurement decision or a failure by arrogant members of the chain of command to give in to pilots' wishes to fly other aircraft or something else more nefarious - questions need to be answered.' Families launched legal bid in a 'letter before action' to the Government earlier this month and will now pursue a judicial review after the plea was snubbed by the MoD, which has sealed access to the files for 100 years. Nicola Rawcliffe, whose brother Major Christopher Dockerty was killed in the crash aged 33, said she was 'disgusted' with the MoD's decision to 'summarily dismiss our claim'. She said: 'The MoD is continuing to deceive our families and disrespect our loved ones' memories by claiming that the many previous inquiries investigated all the facts, but we now know the aircraft was not airworthy. 'The Government may have sealed the files for 100 years, but we, the families of those who died, are firmly united, strong and defiant, and we will get to the truth, no matter what it takes.' Following the disaster, the Chinook's pilots, Flight Lieutenants Richard Cook and Jonathan Tapper, were accused of gross negligence, but the verdict was overturned by the UK government 17 years later following a campaign by the families. A subsequent review by Lord Philip set out 'numerous concerns' raised by those who worked on the Chinooks, with the MoD's testing centre at Boscombe Down in Wiltshire declaring the Chinook Mk2 helicopters 'unairworthy' prior to the crash. Andy Tobias, who was eight when his father Lieutenant Colonel John Tobias, 41, was killed, said: 'My childhood was stolen from me because someone decided my dad and his colleagues should be put on a helicopter that was not fit for purpose. 'My mum, my brother, I and all the families deserve the truth and the MoD must repay the honour and integrity that those on board had shown in their years of service to their country.' Calling for an independent probe into the tragedy, Col Ingram added: 'Everything that has happened so far has been MoD marking its own homeworking. 'The MoD constantly turns around and says its people are its most important asset and that they will do anything to look after them, well clearly in this case they haven't. 'They have thrown those that died and their families under the bus and not given them closure and that is disgusting. 'The MoD tried to pin the blame on the pilots. That's typical of what the MoD does in trying to cover things up. 'They threw the blame on those who cannot defend themselves... It's a shocking scandal.' The families, who formed the Chinook Justice Campaign, said failing to order a public inquiry was a breach of the UK Government's human rights obligations. Solicitor Mark Stephens, from law firm Howard Kennedy, said the MoD's decision was an 'unforgivable betrayal' to those who died and 'an undisguised slap in the face' for their bereaved families. He added: 'So much for the Government's so-called commitment to duty of candour. 'We will now seek a judicial review into the Ministry of Defence's decision to deny the families truth, transparency and justice.' The MoD said it was 'unlikely that a public inquiry would identify any new evidence or reach new conclusions on the basis of existing evidence'. A spokesman added: 'The accident has already been the subject of six inquiries and investigations, including an independent judge-led review.' It is understood the sealed documents contain personal information relating to third party individuals and the early release of this information would breach those individuals' data protection rights. However, Col Ingram questioned whether these details would need to be heard in any public inquiry looking into the circumstances of the disaster. Amid swirling fog, a huge Chinook helicopter smashed into the mountainside at the Mull of Kintyre: All 29 died when Zulu Delta 576 crashed in one of the RAF's worst peacetime disasters... 30 years on, their families are set to mark the tragedy ByGavin Madeley For The Scottish Daily Mail In the swirling evening fog of June 2, 1994, RAF Chinook helicopter ZD576 crashed into a remote mountainside on the Mull of Kintyre, killing all 29 people on board and resulting in one of the Air Force's worst peacetime disasters. The aircraft was transporting the elite of the UK's anti-terrorist intelligence operations in Northern Ireland and as well as bringing heartbreak to their families, the crash set back the cause of peace in Ulster at a stroke. Thirty years on, as the bereaved families prepare to mark this milestone anniversary, we present in gripping detail, a minute-by-minute account of this enduring tragedy. Tuesday, May 31, 1994 - Zulu Delta 576 becomes the first of the upgraded Mark II-type Chinooks to be used in Northern Ireland when it arrives in the province two days before its ill-fated final flight. Its highly trained four-man RAF crew belong to the elite Special Forces – the two pilots, Flight Lieutenants Jonathan Tapper, 30, and Rick Cook, 28, have thousands of hours of flying experience on Chinooks, while loadmasters Kev Hardie and Graham Forbes are skilled navigators. Hardie saw action in the Gulf War and helped drop the now famous Bravo Two Zero SAS patrol hundreds of miles behind enemy lines. But the reliability of the Mk IIs, which have been given only a partial certificate of airworthiness, have sparked safety fears among some pilots, with one of ZD576's engines replaced twice in the weeks leading up to the ill-fated flight. It prompts Cook to double his life insurance payments to £300 a month, and three times in the ten days before the crash he makes his father John, a former Concorde pilot, promise to look after his family in the event of an accident. Shortly before the crash, Tapper asks permission to keep an extra Mk I on standby because of the Mk II's 'limited operational capabilities'. His request is refused. Wednesday, June 1 - The Chinook crew are tasked with transporting 25 anti-terrorism experts – including ten Special Branch RUC officers, nine Army intelligence officers and six Crown servants, five of whom work for MI5 – from RAF Aldergrove, near Belfast, to a security conference at Fort George, near Inverness. The event is held annually outside Northern Ireland to review the year's tragedies and assess the prospects of a peace settlement in Ulster. Flt Lt Tapper plans a low-level route skirting the lighthouse on the southwest edge of the Mull of Kintyre, 42 nautical miles away, then north, hugging the coastline up the Sound of Jura before cutting through the Great Glen. Thursday, June 2, Morning - After a day of routine troop movements, ZD576 returns to RAF Aldergrove to collect its VIP passengers. The conference is serving as a double retirement celebration weekend for two of the most senior officers on board, assistant chief constable Brian Fitzsimons, the head of RUC Special Branch, and the head of MI5 operations in Northern Ireland, John Deverell. Some have packed golf clubs along with their top secret files. 5.30pm - The passengers are shown to their seats, arranged in two inward-facing rows along the sides of the aircraft. The mood is upbeat as they wait for take-off, expecting to reach their accommodation in less than two hours. Swathes of fog have been building and dissipating in the Irish Sea, while the Kintyre peninsula is swallowed up in low mist and light rain. The Mull of Kintyre lighthouse has switched on its foghorn. 5.42pm - The Chinook takes off from RAF Aldergrove with Cook as the operating pilot in the right-hand cockpit seat and Tapper, as non-handling pilot, to his left. The crew make several routine reports to air traffic control and all seems well. Within 20 minutes, all 29 people on board will be dead. 5.46pm - Air traffic control officer Sinead Swift, 27, receives a final message informing her the helicopter has reached the boundary of Belfast international airport's controlled airspace and was proceeding on its journey. The brief routine message ended: 'Good day.' 5.50pm - Witnesses see the Chinook flying very low and making 'a peculiar noise' over the village of Carnlough on the Antrim coast. Anne Tyler, 40, tells a fatal accident inquiry (FAI) that the twin-rotor craft 'skimmed tree tops, roof tops [and] chimney pots' as it left the Irish mainland. She often hears military helicopters near her house and has a 'gut feeling' there is 'something strange about the noise' coming from the rotors. 5.55pm - A crew member tries to contact the military's Air Traffic Control at Prestwick in Ayrshire, but the call is not answered and the crew does not repeat the message. There is no indication that it is an emergency call. No further radio communications are heard from the aircraft. 5.56pm - Out at sea, yachtsman Dr Mark Holbrook is battling with a sail change in blustery winds when the helicopter thunders past less than 400ft above him about two miles south-west of the Mull of Kintyre lighthouse. 'It was flying very low and very fast, and I thought it was down looking at the sea for something specific,' the scientific instrument maker recalls. Through a break in the cloud, he can see the helicopter from about a quarter to half a mile away, its landing gear, markings and flashing light all visible. He tells the FAI: 'If you are seeking to establish whether the pilot could see the location of the Mull lighthouse, yes, I believe he could.' The cloud then swallows the aircraft. Dr Holbrook is the last person to see ZD576 in flight. 5.57pm - As they near the Mull of Kintyre, the crew make a conscious decision to change direction which should have taken them safely to the west of the lighthouse but, inexplicably, the Chinook continues straight on towards 1,400ft-high Beinn na Lice – the Mountain of Stone Slab. The Chinook is travelling at 150 knots, far in excess of its normal cruising speed of 135 knots. It should never go above 138 knots and at 142 knots, pilots experience 'eyeball bounce' when the Chinook shakes so violently that instruments become impossible to read. At 150 knots, it would have taken all the pilots' skills and knowledge to control the aircraft and quickly and accurately diagnose why the engine speed is involuntarily increasing. 5.58pm - Lighthouse keeper David Murchie hears the distinctive beat of the approaching Chinook's twin rotors drown out the foghorn but cannot see the aircraft through the 'dense wall of fog' that has cut visibility out to sea to less than 20 yards. He wonders if it is going to land at the lighthouse's helipad. He cannot see that Flt Lt Cook is frantically pulling the 'up' lever to squeeze every last ounce of lift from the stricken aircraft. Mr Murchie, an amateur pilot, said: 'I became very concerned because I knew it did not have the altitude to clear the high ground. I heard what sounded like a dull thud followed by a lot of whooshing.' Then there is silence. 5.59pm - The Chinook slews sideways into the mountainside, its right side smashes into the lip of a cliff, shredding the drive shaft and shattering the blades. Flt Lt Cook is ripped from his seat and hurled out. A split-second later the floor of the central cargo area shears from the main body. The Chinook explodes in a fireball as 500 gallons of aviation fuel sprays like a flaming waterfall across the heathery ridge and into the sea 800ft below. Yet the blazing wreck stays airborne cartwheeling up the mountain, the 51ft rear rotor blade scything chunks out of the remains of the aircraft's mangled body. It flips over and flies upside down, the blades gouging into the hillside, before skidding and breaking in two. 6pm - Tourist Russell Ellacott, 35, and a friend are walking down the lighthouse road when the track behind them is consumed by flaming debris and top-secret documents caught in the wind. 'There was smoke and things flying up in the air and landing all around us,' he says. He likens it to 'a firework display' amid the wrenching of tortured metal. 'The helicopter seemed to crash on the ridge we had just walked from,' he adds. The pair run back up the road to be confronted by a harrowing vision: 'We tried to see if there was anything we could do to help but the smoke was too bad. About 100 yards later we came into a clearing and found a body.' 6.02pm - Mr Murchie, 56, a former Glasgow policeman, calls to his wife, Margaret, to phone the emergency services then starts uphill on foot as the head keeper, Hector Lamont, 59, arrives back with the lighthouse Land Rover from a shopping trip with his wife, Helen, in nearby Campbeltown. The two keepers take the vehicle up the hillside road but find their way blocked by aircraft debris, and the intense heat and thick smoke from the wreckage. Mr Murchie gets out and walks into the debris field to offer help but can find no sign of life. 6.04pm - Mrs Murchie's 999 call is picked up, triggering a rescue operation. Locals from the nearby village of Southend and workers from Carskiey Estate where the aircraft came down race over to help, while the first professionals on scene are a paramedic and a local doctor. 6.12pm - Police alert the air-sea rescue centre at RAF Pitreavie, Fife, which despatches a Royal Navy helicopter from HMS Gannet at Prestwick, Ayrshire, and a Nimrod from RAF Kinloss to act as an aerial control centre due to the hilly terrain. A second naval helicopter from Prestwick collects a medical team from Glasgow's Southern General Hospital, while a helicopter from RAF Lossiemouth picks up the mountain rescue team from RAF Kinloss and another helicopter flies in from RAF Boulmer in Northumberland. Campbeltown lifeboat is launched to check near the lighthouse for any survivors in the sea, while fire engines from Strathclyde Fire Brigade and RAF Machrihanish speed down to the Mull of Kintyre to assist. All their efforts will prove in vain. 6.30pm - The first police teams and local coastguard volunteers are on the ground just as David Soudan, manager of Carskiey Estate for 30 years, arrives with his son. 'It was horrific,' he recalls, 'there was a lot of smoke and mist, and visibility was never any better than 50 yards. Still, you could see debris strewn from the road to the crash, and further up towards the wreckage the bodies were scattered.' 7pm - The mists lift and the sun briefly breaks through to reveal a picture of devastation. 'It was just like a battlefield. A lot of the bodies were badly burned, with the heather all ablaze,' says John MacMillan, a member of the auxiliary coastguard for 35 years. Beyond the immediate horror of the blazing wreckage, a parallel security operation is gathering pace as an air-exclusion zone is imposed and police roadblocks seal off the crash site and officers prepare to turn back hundreds of journalists and TV crews descending on the Mull of Kintyre. 7.45pm - Rescue has turned to recovery and medical teams start to leave the scene knowing there is nothing for them to do. Ambulance crews are soon told to return to base and hospitals put on alert are also stood down. Pathologists conducting the post-mortem examinations will confirm that all 29 victims had died almost instantaneously, some so badly burned they have to be identified from dental records. Some rescuers will suffer prolonged trauma from what they have witnessed. Friday, June 3, Midday - Behind the police cordon, crash investigators are picking their way among the crumpled rotor blades, searching for clues. There is no flight data recorder or cockpit voice recorder to aid their probe as neither was fitted to ZD576. Later, police will place every piece of debris into evidence bags, while stray possessions, including a golf club and a toilet bag, are taken away separately. Senior officers deny rumours that MI5 and special branch officers have also arrived to search for sensitive documents scattered over the square mile of the crash site. A vast aircraft hangar at Machrihanish air base is now a temporary mortuary and the centre of the accident investigation. Within its corrugated walls, behind high-security fences, experts start to pore over the debris removed from the crash site. Saturday, June 4 - Armed Forces minister Jeremy Handley inspects the remains of ZD576 which carried the cream of Northern Ireland's anti-terrorist intelligentsia to their deaths. His presence hammers home the massive security implications of the tragedy on this remote outpost. The names of the dead are revealed - Apart from the four crew, they number six MI5 officers, including Mr Deverell, 57; Stephen Rickard, 35; Michael Maltby, 57; John Haynes, 58; Martin Dalton, 37; and Anne James, 42; along with nine military personnel: Col Chris Biles, 41; Lt-Col Richard Gregory-Smith, 42; Lt-Col John Tobias, 41; Lt-Col George Victor Williams, 49; Major Richard Allen, 34; Major Christopher Dockerty, 33; Major Antony Hornby, 38; Major Roy Pugh, 37; and Major Gary Paul Sparks, 33. The RUC team led by Mr Fitzsimons, 52, included Det Ch Sup Dessie Conroy, 55; Det Ch Sup Maurice Neilly, 45; Det Sup Phil Davidson, 45; Det Sup Bob Foster, 41; Det Sup Billy Gwilliam, 50; Det Sup Ian Phoenix, 51; Det Ch Insp Denis Bunting, 39; Det Insp Stephen Davidson, 39; and Det Insp Kevin Magee, 44. Sunday, September 18 - Around 300 people gather on Beinn na Lice amid bitter winds for a memorial service to dedicate a stone cairn to the memory of the victims of the disaster. Among the mourners are Stella Rimington, head of MI5, RUC Chief Constable Sir Hugh Annesley, and the Army General officer commanding for Northern Ireland, Lieutenant General Sir Roger Wheeler. Rev Andy McMullon, chaplain at RAF Aldergrove, tells them: 'Looking forward in faith from this scarred hillside where the heather will soon burst into new life, we pray for all who face the task of rebuilding shattered lives.' Aftermath - In 1995, an RAF board of inquiry rules it is impossible to establish the exact cause of the accident but, to the horror of grieving families, the ruling is overturned by two senior reviewing officers, who find the pilots guilty of 'gross negligence' for flying too fast and too low in thick fog. That finding proves highly controversial, given the history of technical problems linked to the Chinook Mk IIs in general and ZD576 in particular, which was retrofitted with a computerised engine control system known as FADEC, which controls the aircraft's speed at all times and cannot be overridden by the pilot. The following year, a fatal accident inquiry held at Paisley Sheriff Court rules the cause of the crash is 'inconclusive', and several subsequent inquiries, including an independent review in 2011, find the pilots should not have been blamed and accepts that the RAF falsely declared compliance with regulations in relation to the aircraft's authority to fly. The families eventually receive compensation totalling millions of pounds from the Ministry of Defence, yet the case continues to make waves following recent MoD decisions to lock away files relating to the accident for 100 years and not organise any official memorial service to mark the 30th anniversary. Local minister Reverend Steven Sass, who is arranging a church-led ceremony taking in the memorial cairn, says: 'I understand that some of the families feel upset about the lack of an official military-led memorial service, but we hope that the church can offer the comfort, respect and recognition that is deserved.'
The Sun
22-06-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
Trump's shock Iran strikes take us to brink of global conflict and will strengthen Axis of Evil alliance, experts warn
TRUMP'S historic strikes against Iran could push the world to the brink of global conflict, experts have warned. Wounded Iran has vowed to fight on, and at this very moment will be calling upon its allies to gather against the West. 7 7 While Israel has stamped out much of Iran's power in the Middle East, it still has formidable allies with similarly anti-west interests. Experts believe Trump's strikes could force the axis of evil closer together and set in motion a chain of events that embroils more countries in the conflict. Philip Ingram, a global defence expert, told The Sun: 'Iranian ballistic missiles will not reach the United States and therefore to try and respond to the United States attack Iran's going to have to do something different. "It'll bring its axis of evil. That means Iran, Russia, North Korea and China. "We are a couple of feet further up the escalation ladder towards a global conflict." North Korea showed its willingness to get involved with other wars when Kim sent 12,000 troops over to fight on Russia's front line with Ukraine. With Iran increasingly desperate, North Korea could step in and provide military aid such as "missile technology", Ingram said. Russia has been one of Iran's most vocal allies, and has warned all along that regime change would be "unacceptable". The Kremlin said the assassination of Iran's supreme leader would "open the Pandora's box". Ingram said that 'Iran and Russia will join forces to try and cause as much disruption in different countries as possible." Watch Trump hail 'very successful' bombing on Iran's nuke bases Russia is well-versed in the dark arts, and has propagated a campaign of sabotage against the West, so would have plenty to teach Iran. Forcing Iran and Russia closer together is not the only way US strikes could impact on Putin. Ingram said: 'The escalating conflict helps Russia by moving Russia-Ukraine further down the agenda so that people aren't focusing on it. 'It also ties up international geopolitical organisations and politicians in a complex Middle East situation - so again they don't have the capacity to focus on what Russia's doing in Ukraine." Chip Chapman said that the most immediate threat to western allies would be if Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz - which could even see the UK dragged into the conflict. He said: "20 percent of the world's oil runs through the strait. Closing it could have huge implications for the oil price. 'And that's where the Brits may get involved. If the Iranians were to try and close the Strait of Hormuz, there would be a definite ask from the Americans to the Brits." 7 7 Russia would likely back Iran's decision to close the strait, because an increase in oil prices would help fund its activities, Ingram explained. For many years Iran enjoyed considerable power in the Middle East through its proxies across the region. Two of the key players were Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon - but over the past 20 months Israel has seriously crippled them. However, Ingram says the Houthis in Yemen still pose a threat to the world other. He said: "I think we will see a massive uptake in Houthi activity in disrupting international shipping in the Red Sea." Experts have also warned that the strikes could prove a "slippery slope" and commit the US to pursuing more extreme military goals in Iran - such as overthrowing the regime. 7 7 Laura Blumenfeld, a Middle East analyst at the Johns Hopkins School, said: "Beware mission creep, aiming for regime change and democratization campaigns. "You'll find the bones of many failed US moral missions buried in Middle East sands." US-driven regime change would likely drive a wedge further between the West and the Islamic world - as was the case with Iraq - the experts suggest. Ingram said: "If there Ayatollah was killed it could change the whole way the government is set up in Iran, like we had with the fall of the Shah. "Then you whatever comes in next could be worse than what's in now and more polarised." 7 The US strikes could also prove a spark to other flash points around the world - such as the China-Taiwan tensions. Ingram said 'China will likely sit back and wait to see what's happening, to begin with. "Xi Jinping might think the international community is so tied up in the Middle East, that he has a window of opportunity, and he might try and take Taiwan. 'The world is not just a more febrile place, but the potentials for a series of events to happen to take us into a global conflict have just become even more complex to try and analyse. 'We haven't moved away from conflict. We have moved away from a despot regime getting towns on nuclear weapons, but it's not made the world immediately safer. 'What happens over the coming days and weeks will let us understand as to whether we have moved back from the brink of a global conflict or move further forward.'
The Sun
14-06-2025
- Politics
- The Sun
With a million Russians dead & wounded – Putin won't hesitate pouring ANOTHER million into meatgrinder war, insiders say
EVIL Vladimir Putin would not think twice before flooding another million soldiers to die on the battlefield, defence experts have warned. It comes as Putin's battlefield casualties have soared past the bloody one million milestone after 40 months of meatgrinder war. 10 10 10 Ukraine's fierce resistance forced Russia to pay a mighty toll for every inch of land it has taken, and its advances remain painfully slow. The staggering milestone includes troops who have been killed or wounded so severely that they cannot fight on. According to the Ukrainian General Staff, one million Russian military troops have been put out of action since February 24, 2022, with 628,000 of those casualties occurring in the last six months. Burning through a million troops has won Putin just 20 per cent of Ukraine's total territory - mainly in southern and eastern areas - which is a humiliating conversion rate. Despite the devastating losses which have already ripped a scar in Russian society, experts fear that Putin is likely unaffected by the numbers. And that's because mass sacrifice is ingrained in his Soviet-style battle plan. Leading defence expert Philip Ingram told The Sun: "Putin does not care about the numbers. He has a huge number of people ready to go to war. "Though he has been having difficulties in recruiting soldiers full-time, he is recruiting soldiers from rural Russia on contracts and paying them heavily. "Russia is sending waves and waves of soldiers, often without the support of artillery and other fire weapons. They are being slaughtered." Mr Ingram said the Russian population may not be aware of the actual casualty rate of the war, which is being kept away the Kremlin's propaganda machine. Putin's Ukraine war toll tops 1 MILLION Russians dead & wounded 40 months into 'days-long operation'…with no end in sight, with Stephen Hall He explained how soliders are being recruited from isolated parts of Russia where the population is often poor with low literacy levels. And how Putin is "buying their silence" by offering them "life-changing compensations". The expert said: "Soldiers are coming in from vast parts of Russia where there is no connectivity. Their literacy levels are extremely low. "What's keeping them coming is the amount of compensation they are getting, which is often life-changing. "It means they or their families would never have to work again for the rest of their lives. "That's how Vladimir Putin is buying their silence; he seems to have the population behind him. Russia expert Bill Borwder told The Sun that Putin would lose "another five million soldiers" if it helps him to stay in power. Putin will sacrifice one, two or even five million Russians just to make sure that he stays in power Bill BrowderRussia expert He said: "Part of the reason that Putin is at war is not because he wants a piece of Ukraine ot he's upset with NATO. "He's at war because he's desperately afraid of his own people, and the best way of having his people have their anger deflected is have them angry at some foreign adversary. "Putin is so scared for losing his own life, he's ready to sacrifice one, two or even five million Russians just to make sure that he stays in power." A Ukrainian government source told The Sun: "Putin doesn't care and never cared for the people of Russian Federation, be it ethnic Russians or representatives of other minorities. "For him, it is a matter of personal survival and he would be willing to send anyone to death - from a Russian soldier to a Ukrainian child - for his own miserable existence. "Unfortunately, Russian people in majority are also too scared to stand up to the monster they've created, and would rather die killing other nation's people than risk their lives standing up against it." 10 10 10 10 Dr Stephen Hall, politics lecturer at the University of Bath, said that as far as the warmongering dictator is concerned, things are heading in the right direction, so he will keep on condemning young Russians to their deaths. He told The Sun: "Putin believes he's winning the war. The Russian army is moving forward like it or not. "He believes that he can outlast the West, that the West is weak." Russia's strategy, Dr Hall said, has been one of "meat assault". This relies on the logic that if you flood the front line with overwhelming numbers, "eventually some will get through". Dr Hall said Putin has learned this strategy from his ruthless Soviet predecessors in World War Two. Their idea was "ten men to every rifle", which meant: "You pick up the rifle of a fallen soldier. You keep going, you get shot. You're next. Your buddy picks up your rifle. "The Soviet army would eventually push through. So that remains the case in Russia." Russians 'know how to suffer', which allows the regime to continue with its meatgrinder tactics Dr Stephen HallPolitics lecturer at the University of Bath And that approach suits Putin just fine, because he "doesn't care about his men", Dr Hall said. He said the Russian people "know how to suffer", which allows the regime to continue with its meat-grinder tactics. The Kremlin also meets less resistance from the Russian people than a million losses should merit, because it simply lies to them, Dr Hall said. He said: "They're simply not going to be told, especially in the poorer areas where Russia is recruiting - like Buryatia and Bashkortostan and elsewhere." NO STOPPING Even with the death toll climbing higher by the day — over 1,140 Russian soldiers killed or wounded on Tuesday — Putin appears to be doubling down. The bloody milestone comes as Putin calls for a major upgrade to Russia's ground forces, Ukrainian outlet Pravda reports. The Kremlin tyrant declared them the 'dominant force' in modern warfare and demanded faster development of 'advanced weapons systems' with 'the highest tactical and technical specifications.' In a meeting on the state armaments programme, Putin also directed resources toward strengthening Russia's navy, further signalling his long-term military ambitions. It all comes as Russia is reportedly building up a 50,000-strong force alongside the border of Kharkiv amid fears of a fresh summer offensive to attack the city. 10 With the US backing out of direct negotiations to broker a peace deal and Putin stalling ceasefire talks, experts fear a major Russian offensive could mobilise in the coming weeks. The Ukrainian military in April reported that the Kremlin was amassing troops to prepare for a fresh assault on Kharkiv - Ukraine's second largest city. Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelensky also said that Moscow has been attempting to gain ground in the border regions of Sumy in the northeast. Military analysts believe he is trying to press home his advantage and capture more Ukrainian land. They warn that Putin only has a "four-month window" to get a breakthrough in Ukraine this year. And this could be the beginning of Russia's summer offensive targeting the border city of Kharkiv - the "fortress" city of Ukraine which put up the maximum resistance at the start of the invasion.
Belfast Telegraph
21-05-2025
- Business
- Belfast Telegraph
Access to £126bn EU rearmament fund under UK-EU trade deal ‘good' for Thales' east Belfast weapons factory
The accord announced on Monday is expected to allow the UK to participate in the fund covering ammunition and missiles, although UK taxpayers will have to make contributions to the EU budget. UK companies will be able to bid for 65% of the fund reserved for member states, with Thales in a strong position as it is a French company with operations in the UK. A security pact with UK and EU officials meeting twice a year for talks on defence and foreign policy has also been agreed. It's hoped the pact could ultimately bear fruit for Thales, which employs 800 people in east Belfast. The company is expected to create another 200 jobs after the UK Government announced in March that it would be investing £1.6bn in the factory as part of an order for 5,000 air defence missiles for Ukraine. Philip Ingram, a journalist specialising in security and intelligence, said: 'Any initiative to ease access to the wider European defence market is a good thing… "Defence industries in Northern Ireland are in a unique position by already having access to the EU markets as well as the power of the UK defence market through being UK-based and often UK-registered companies. 'Defence is in a complex position when it comes to the EU as national priorities take precedence and competition is not equal. That is why Thales' UK arm has a factory in NI but it can also leverage the fact that it is a French company with an element of ownership by the French government.' Countries have undertaken to increase defence spending in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the tightening of US purse strings when it comes to global defence. Mr Ingram said Thales would benefit from increased spending by the UK on its defence budget, and the global growth of defence around the world, including the EU. 'Thales has the backing of the French and UK Governments and produces combat-proven capabilities that people want.' And he said the fund could also be a source of funding for NI companies that are not part of bigger defence businesses. Mr Ingram added: 'We have to recognise the world is an increasingly unstable place and investment in defence will help make it more stable by preparing for the worse. "It's like insurance companies insisting on fire alarms, carbon monoxide detectors and the like to reduce insurance premiums, it's to reduce the risk not stimulate a fire.' No-one at Thales in Belfast was available for comment. Its portfolio includes StarStreak high-velocity missiles, lightweight multi-role missiles (LMM) and the N-LAW, which has been used by the Ukrainian Army against Russian forces. There has been renewed interest from Europe and further afield in the Belfast short-range air defence capability. ADS Group, the industry body in the UK for aerospace, defence and space, has given the initiative a cautious welcome. "The new security and defence partnership, announced as a work in progress by No10, is a welcome development, although somewhat underwhelming in its lack of detail. "While we are assured that this will pave the way for the UK defence industry to participate in the EU's proposed new €150bn Security Action for Europe (SAFE) defence fund, and therefore support thousands of UK jobs, we are reluctant to celebrate too early when the specifics of such a deal remain to be seen. 'For UK defence and security, industrial cooperation is mission critical for more than 160,000 jobs, £10bn in exports, and nearly £12bn in value add to the UK economy.'
Daily Mail
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE The mystery electric substation fires that 'bear the hallmarks of Russian sabotage': How spate of suspicious blazes are 'straight out of playbook' of Putin's GRU spy wing
A mysterious spate of electrical substation infernos that have swept across the UK could potentially be the work of Russian saboteurs, a British spymaster has hinted. Colonel Philip Ingram, a former officer in British military intelligence, said Putin 's GRU spy agency might be 'testing the water' with attacks on key infrastructure. It comes after a series of suspicious blazes ravaged substations close to hospitals, military bases, critical transport hubs and major sports stadiums nationwide. Ex-spook Col Ingram claimed the targeting of such power sites was something that comes 'straight out of the playbook' of Russia 's secretive GRU. 'There is a possibility what we're seeing with this spate of fires is tied in with some sabotage operation potentially by Russian GRU. You can't rule it out,' he warned. 'This is something within Russian military intelligence remit to identify and work out how to attack and potentially test those theories.' Meanwhile, Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk yesterday accused Russian special services of ordering an arson attack that nearly destroyed a shopping centre in the country's capital Warsaw last year. Russia has denied any involvement in the arson attack and accused Poland of Russophobia. A series of other fires nationwide have followed at electrical substations close to hospitals, military bases and transport hubs. Pictured are fire crews in London attempting to quell the inferno at a substation in Paddington on April 29 In March, Heathrow 's North Hyde substation was destroyed when a fire ripped through it, knocking out power for 12 hours and causing international travel mayhem. Some 270,000 air passenger journeys were disrupted by the closure and left 67,000 homes without power. The disaster proved a national embarrassment and highlighted the vulnerability of one of Britain's main travel hubs. The chaos saw counter-terrorism police initially deployed amid fears the blaze at the National Grid-owned station was a deliberate attack. Five days after the inferno at the 60-year-old transformer, the Metropolitan Police declared it had found 'no evidence to suggest that the incident was suspicious in nature'. It's position has not changed, MailOnline understands. A probe is still being carried out, with an interim report by National Energy System Operator last week warning the cause of the fire at the facility ultimately remains unknown but that they have ruled out any suspicious cause. Experts insist substation fires are 'rare' but 'not unheard of'. But analysis by MailOnline has revealed a number of suspicious incidents taking place in the days and weeks after the Heathrow outage, which have concerned Col Ingram. On April 30 in Glasgow, a huge fire ripped through an electrical substation in Taransay Street. The road backs onto defence giant BAE Systems' Govan shipbuilding facility – which is constructing the next fleet of Type 26 frigates for the Royal Navy. No cause for the blaze has been announced, with police now investigating it. The Govan shipyard is deemed a critical site for UK defence, with Col Ingram saying it could be a prime target for hostile state actors or foreign intelligence officials. A day earlier, on April 29, another dramatic inferno ravaged a substation in Paddington, central London. Shocking photos showed a ferocious wall of flames bursting high into the sky from the facility, in Victoria Passage in Aberdeen Place. Eighty residents had to be evacuated from a neighbouring tower block amid fears the flames could engulf it. The fire was less than a mile from St Mary's Hospital which treats thousands of people a year, and Paddington railway station - Britain's second busiest station. The blaze was also close to the iconic Lord's Cricket Ground. And on Sunday, two parts of the UK were affected by major substation fires. In Exeter, some 400 homes were left without power after a fire ripped through a power hub in Fore Street. The substation is a few hundred feet from the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, one of the region's busiest hospitals treating about 90,000 patients a year. About 250 miles north in Liverpool, another substation in Lower Breck Road bursts into flames. It is based a few hundred feet from the Anfield football stadium – home to Premier League champions, Liverpool. Government sources last night insisted there was 'no evidence' that foreign interference was involved in the spate of blazes - which were likely ignited instead due to 'technical issues'. Col Ingram said the chance of some of the fires being linked to Kremlin spies was unlikely - but not impossible. 'It's more likely to be a coincidence than hostile intelligence services but we can't rule it out,' he said. 'Those investigating these fires need to look at it with an open mind. 'Even if they can't find evidence of a hostile state or of sabotage, that doesn't mean it's not necessarily them. They will be very good at hiding these things and that evidence.' Col Ingram added during his time in working in the British Army, he had planned similar operations to disrupt enemy power supplies ahead of bombing runs. 'This is the sort of planning any intelligence organisation will do and do very carefully,' he said. 'When the Heathrow fire occurred, I was one of the many who thought this was a little too coincidental and too good. It's right out the Russian GRU playbook; identifying things that are relatively unprotected and finding a way of causing damage to them. He continued: 'I remember planning for bombing runs and we needed to shut down an enemy power facility. 'We targeted the substation. There was a lot of planning that went into this. We targeted bespoke equipment or things that would take months to repair. Firefighters douses flames of a fire that broke out at a substation supplying power to Heathrow Airport in Hayes, west London 'We used specialised munitions as they didn't cause large damage or casualties. But it took out a key component that effectively fried itself. We knew that this item was only built in a handful of places in the world and lead time to build it was several months.' Russia has been accused of carrying out a number of sabotage attacks across European Nato countries in recent years. According to a report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), they nearly tripled between 2023 and 2024, after quadrupling between 2022 and 2023. Transportation and critical infrastructure are often the prime targets for such sabotage, the CSIS claimed. About 27 per cent of the known attacks were against transportation targets, another 27 per cent hit government sites, and 21 per cent were against critical infrastructure, including the electricity grid, pipelines and undersea fiber-optic cables, the think-tank added. In November Britain's foreign spy chief accused Russia of waging a 'staggering reckless campaign' of sabotag e across European. Speaking in Paris, Richard Moore, the head of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service known as MI6, said: 'We have recently uncovered a staggeringly reckless campaign of Russian sabotage in Europe, even as Putin and his acolytes resort to nuclear sabre-rattling to sow fear about the consequences of aiding Ukraine. 'The cost of supporting Ukraine is well known but the cost of not doing so would be infinitely higher. If Putin succeeds China would weigh the implications, North Korea would be emboldened and Iran would become still more dangerous.' The view was backed by Ken McCallum, the head of MI5, who warned Russia's intelligence agency has been on a relentless mission to create 'sustained mayhem on British and European streets'. During his annual security update on the threats posed by Britain, Mr McCallum said GRU agents had carried out 'arson, sabotage and more dangerous actions conducted with increasing recklessness'. 'The UK's leading role in supporting Ukraine means we loom large in the fevered imagination of Putin's regime, and we should expect to see continued acts of aggression here at home,' MI5's director-general warned. 'The GRU in particular is on a sustained mission to generate mayhem on British and European streets: we've seen arson, sabotage and more. Dangerous actions conducted with increasing recklessness.'
