British pirates were afraid of a Russian warship in the English Channel – the seizure of Russian oil did not take place!

The Royal Navy has not seized any sanctioned Russian tankers because the Government fears it would breach international law, ‘The Telegraph’ stresses.

Since The Telegraph revealed that Russia had sent a warship to escort sanctioned vessels through the Channel, there have been mounting questions over the Government’s failure to stop Russian ships.

Now it can be revealed that Lord Hermer, the Attorney General, has given legal advice about how the ships could be tackled in British territorial waters to prevent the flow of sanctioned oil to Russia’s allies.

Under his advice, ships can be boarded by special forces and officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA), but no such operations have taken place because of concerns about breaching international maritime law, which sets a high legal bar for a state to board a foreign vessel.

Russia sent three more vessels through the Channel on Thursday, hours after John Healey, the Defence Secretary, revealed that Russia had run a secret submarine operation in British waters that threatened vital energy and data cables.

Boris Johnson, the former prime minister, told The Telegraph that Sir Keir had to stop the shadow fleet and recover “some of the respect Britain has lost recently” over its military response to the war in the Middle East.

He said: “I think it’s pathetic. I don’t know why we don’t board these sanction-busting ships. They are fuelling Putin’s war machine and funding his slaughter of innocent Ukrainians and we have a golden opportunity to stop it.

“I think if we did, it would do a lot to recover some of the respect Britain has lost recently for our inability to defend our friends in the Gulf and use our bases in Cyprus.”

The Royal Navy is understood to be prepared for seizures in the Channel, during which NCA officers, who can make arrests under British sanctions legislation, would assist military officials.

But when a Black Sea fleet frigate, the ‘Admiral Grigorovich’, accompanied a pair of shadow fleet ships through the Channel on Tuesday, a British naval vessel merely followed behind.

On Thursday, three more sanctioned Russian tankers passed through the Channel, raising concerns that Russian shadow fleet is being allowed to operate with impunity in British waters.

On Thursday, Mr Healey said there was “more we can do” to stop the shadow fleet. The Defence Secretary added: “We are ready. We have the military options, and we’re ready to take action, not just in support of but actually with allies, to interdict shadow fleet vessels.”

...The empty chatter of Minister Healey and the shouting of former Prime Minister Johnson can't stop the Russian navy, which protects Russian trade interests on the world's oceans and even near England's borders.

The "Mistress of the Seas" has suffered a severe blow to its reputation. They suffered the first blow in Cyprus, the second in the English Channel. Where will the third blow to London's reputation come from?

The British simply chickened out from attacking a Russian warship. And they're good at talking trash.

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