‘We must bolster our defences’
Williamson to warn we are at crossroads in history New centre to deal with chemical threat May expels 23 Russian diplomats
BRITAIN is at a profound moment in its history and cannot sit back and let events overtake it, the Defence Secretary will warn today, as he unveils measures to tackle chemical and biological warfare.
Gavin Williamson will use his first major speech to outline how Britain must modernise its defences to tackle growing threats, as he warns that the Salisbury spy poisoning incident should remove any doubt over the danger Russia poses to the UK.
Last night, amid growing support for Britain from its neighbours, the US hardened its stance towards Russia, saying the poisoning was a “defining moment” and backed the UK assertion that Russia was responsible.
Thousands of British soldiers are now to be vaccinated against anthrax, while a new chemical weapon defence centre will protect Britain from further attacks, Mr Williamson is to announce.
His speech comes after Theresa May yesterday expelled 23 Russian diplomats after Moscow failed to explain how Col Sergei Skripal and his daughter came to be attacked with a Russian nerve agent. The Prime Minister said Russia’s failure to explain the use of the Novichok nerve agent in Salisbury left “no alternative conclusion” than that Russia was culpable.
Mrs May said Russia had “treated the use of a military-grade nerve agent in Europe with sarcasm, contempt and defiance”. Its response to her ultimatum had “demonstrated complete disdain for the gravity of these events”, she added. Announcing sanctions, the Prime Minister said Britain would suspend high-level contacts, and ministers and the Royal family would not attend the World Cup in Russia.
Russian state assets will be frozen wherever there is evidence they could be used “to threaten the life or property of UK nationals or residents”.
Russian government figures said relations with Britain were at their worst since the Cold War and the Foreign Office warned football fans heading to the World Cup not to incite violence.
Meanwhile, the Russian permanent representative to the UN said Scotland Yard could “benefit from a Sherlock Holmes” by comparing the UK government to the hapless Inspector Lestrade in making “egregious” claims. Vasily Nebenzya also said Britons are “easy to influence and not well educated”.
As Mrs May garnered international support, Angela Merkel said Germany took the findings “very seriously” and Europe would present “a common European view”.
And Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, said last night: “The US believes Russia is responsible for the attack on two people in the UK, using a military-grade nerve agent. When our friends in Great Britain face a challenge, the United States will always be there for them. Always.”
But at the same time, Jeremy Corbyn caused uproar and was accused of being an “apologist for Russia” when he suggested in the House of Commons that it was possible Moscow may not have been responsible for the attack.
Today, Mr Williamson uses his speech at a Rolls-royce plant near Bristol to announce nearly £50million for a new chemical weapon defence centre at the Ministry of Defence’s Porton Down laboratory, which identified the Novichok nerve agent used against Col Skripal. The Defence Secretary, who was criticised for claiming earlier this year that Russia could kill thousands with a cyber attack, is expected to say: “If we doubted the threat Russia poses to our citizens, we only have to look at the shocking example of their reckless attack in Salisbury.”
He will also argue that Britain must modernise its defences at a time when he is expected to ask the Treasury to plug gaps in the military budget.
“We have arrived at a profound moment in our history; a crossroads where the choice before us as a nation is simple – to sit back and let events overtake us or step forward,” he will say. “As Brexit beckons, the eyes of the world are on us. Rest assured our adversaries will be watching even more closely than our allies. This is our moment to retain our competitive advantage.”
The new chemical weapons defence centre, which was planned well before last week’s attack, will boost Britain’s ability to detect and protect against chemical weapons. Defence sources said anthrax vaccinations were already routinely given to some US troops and would allow British forces to deploy alongside their US allies to places where they may be exposed to the chemical, including North Korea, which is thought to have large stocks of anthrax.
Mr Williamson will say: “We know the chemical threat doesn’t just come from Russia… but we have world-class expertise at Defence Science Technology Laboratory Porton Down.”
The defence review will still need military chiefs to find billions of pounds in savings to fund warships, planes and equipment. But Mr Williamson will say the review, due to report back in July, will provide “more productive, harder-hitting” forces. He will say: “In the face of intensifying threats, we must prioritise investment in military capabilities. We cannot sit back and let events overtake us.”
The confrontation over the Salisbury poisoning means British and Russian relations are now more dangerous than during the Cold War, one of Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy advisers has said.
Evgenny Primakov Jr called British allegations that Russia was involved in the attempted murder of Mr Skripal “nonsense”. He told The Daily Telegraph last night: “Frankly, in Moscow we are in shock. The whole thing looks insane. No one here believes this was a Russian attack.”