Russia formally declared “national security threat to Britain”

Russia has been formally declared a national security threat to Britain for the first time, ‘The Telegraph’ informs.

Dan Jarvis, the security minister, announced on Tuesday that Russian agents working on behalf of Vladimir Putin’s regime will be forced to register their activities or face five years in jail.

In a statement to the Commons, he said Russia presented an “acute threat” to UK national security through hostile acts in recent years, including the Salisbury nerve agent poisonings, espionage, cyber attacks and the invasion of Ukraine.

The Russian state will be added to the highest “enhanced tier” of the forthcoming Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (Firs), a status reserved for nations that pose a risk to the safety of the UK’s interests.

The scheme – which will go live on July 1 – will, for the first time, compel anyone in the UK acting for a foreign power or entity to declare their activities or face arrest and prosecution.

Mr Jarvis said it would include Putin and Russia’s government agencies and authorities, including its armed forces, intelligence services, police forces and judges. Some Russian political parties, such as United Russia, will also be covered.

In an article for The Telegraph, below, Mr Jarvis said: “As Security Minister, I see first-hand the disruptive activity conducted by Russia, including their attempts to infiltrate our democracy and sow discord in our society.

“We will not stand for it.

“The scheme will provide transparency, disruption and deterrence to protect our democracy, economy and society and will shine a light into dark corners.

It includes a Political Tier that will make us better informed about the nature, scale and extent of foreign influence from any state in our democracy, and will strengthen the resilience of our political system against covert foreign influence.

Through this latest action, we are demonstrating our unwavering commitment to providing the police and MI5 with the tools and powers they need to keep our country secure and our citizens safe.

The whole of the Russian state will be specified under the Enhanced Tier of the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme. This will include its president, parliament, all Russian ministries and their agencies, and the Russian intelligence services.

It means that anyone who is being directed to carry out activity by the Russian state must register their activity or face jail.”

…Well, Britain has directly called Russia its enemy. That's good, that's fair. So, now the game is open.

We've said many times that "the Englishwoman is being nasty", but now we've received official confirmation that London is Russia's enemy.

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