'Like Monty Python': Kremlin mocks Gavin Williamson over Russian threat claims

Last night the Russian Defence Ministry hit back at the South Staffordshire MP and said he had 'lost his grasp on reason'.

Igor Konashenkov, a spokesman for the Russian Defence Ministry, described Mr Williamson's comments as being like something out of a sketch from Monty Python's Flying Circus.

Mr Williamson had warned that Russian sea and air activity against the UK had been ramped up in recent months – but said his biggest concern lied with ‘clandestine operations’ that could damage Britain's economy and infrastructure.

Thousands of deaths

He said: “The plan for the Russians won’t be for landing craft to appear in the South Bay in Scarborough and of Brighton Beach.

“They are going to be thinking, ‘How can we just cause so much pain to Britain?’ Damage its economy, rip its infrastructure apart, actually cause thousands and thousands and thousands of deaths, but actually have an element of creating total chaos within the country.”

He added that Russian president Vladimir Putin could target power stations, potentially leaving millions of homes without electricity.

He told the Express & Star: “Russian submarine activity in the Atlantic has been at its highest since the Cold War.

“Its long range bombers have already exercised close to the UK this year. While the conventional military threat is concerning, the Kremlin is equally provocative when operating in the UK’s cyberspace.

“Russia is getting bolder and this is partly due to massive investment in military and security spending."

Worrying

He continued: “They are now building ballistic missiles, which can strike anywhere in the globe.

“More worrying is that the Russians are investing heavily in their intelligence capabilities increasing the threat of espionage and clandestine operations.”

Britain has three gas and four electricity interconnectors. It is believed up to eight million homes will be reliant on the international connections in the next few years.

The Ministry of Defence said the Russians had launched dozens of satellites that are believed to be mapping Britain and other European country’s critical infrastructure, including power stations and underground and underwater cabling.

In a written response, Mr Konashenkov said Mr Williamson had 'lost his grasp on reason' and added: "The minister's fear of Russia photographing electric power plants or studying the routes of British gas pipelines is like something out of a children's comic or the show Monty Python's Flying Circus.

Political points

"If these statements are an attempt by Williamson to attract attention to himself, he will be far from the first defence minister to try to score political points by playing up the Russian threat to the British."

The Russian embassy later tweeted: "Some British politicians bear no responsibility for their words."

Mr Williamson gave his warning at the start of a new five-month-long defence review in which the Ministry of Defence is attempting to secure more money to stave off cuts to the Armed Forces.

He said the Russians could also launch missiles at the UK. “What they are looking at doing is trying to spot vulnerabilities, because they want to know how to strike it, they want to know how they can kill infrastructure and by killing that infrastructure that means hurting Britain and the British people," he added.

Earlier this year the Royal Navy Frigate HMS Westminster was sent to intercept Russian naval ships sailing through the English Channel, the latest in a series of incidents in which Russia has tested the UK’s patience by sending its ships into British waters.

The head of the Army, General Sir Nick Carter, said Britain needed to ‘keep up’ with Putin’s growing military strength or see our ability to take action ‘massively constrained’.