Russia launches cyber war on UK

Massive increase in Kremlin ‘disinformation’ as Boris Johnson warns of Putin’s retaliation

RUSSIA has launched a “dirty tricks” campaign against Britain and the US in the wake of the Syria airstrikes as Boris Johnson warned of a need to be prepared for retaliatory attacks.

Whitehall sources last night confirmed a 20-fold increase in “disinformation” being spread by Kremlin-linked social media “bot” accounts since the missile attacks on Syria in the early hours of Saturday. There are fears that this could be a precursor to a full-scale campaign of cyber attacks by Moscow, and the Foreign Secretary said Britain would take “every possible precaution” to guard against it. It comes as Jeremy Corbyn attempts to force a Commons vote on Syria that could make it harder for the Prime Minister to mobilise the Armed Forces without the permission of MPS.

Mr Corbyn will today ask the Speaker to grant an emergency debate, that is likely to lead to a vote, which will scrutinise Mrs May’s judgment in authorising the airstrikes.

The Prime Minister will today tell the Commons that bombing Syria was in Britain’s “national interest” to prevent future chemical attacks “within Syria, on the streets of the UK or elsewhere” as she invokes the Salisbury poisonings as justification for the UK’S participation in the Us-led strikes.

She will also say that “it was the right thing to do” to avert further suffering caused by chemical attacks and that “we are not alone – there is broadbased international support for the action we have taken”.

Russia, which backs the Assad regime in Syria, had repeatedly warned in the build-up to the cruise missile strikes that there would be consequences if they went ahead, and Mr Johnson told the BBC’S Andrew Marr that Russia “gives us every possible signal and evidence that we have to beware”. Asked if he was worried about cyber attacks on the NHS, the National Grid and other infrastructure, he said: “I think we have to take every possible precaution and when you look at what Russia has done, not just in this country in Salisbury but the attacks on TV stations, on the democratic processes, on the critical national infrastructure, of course we have to be very, very cautious indeed.”

The Pentagon said there had been a surge in Russian “troll” accounts promoting false claims about the missile attacks, including that 70 per cent of the missiles had been shot down.

Dana White, a Pentagon spokesman, said: “The Russian disinformation campaign has already begun. There has been a 2,000 per cent increase in Russian trolls in the last 24 hours.”

A Whitehall source said Russia was engaging in a “dirty tricks” campaign, while Government sources said officials would be analysing Kremlin-linked social media “bot” accounts in the coming days to assess the extent to which Britain had been targeted by them.

There were, however, genuine questions last night over whether the attack by 105 American, British and French missiles had obliterated Syria’s chemical weapons capabilities or not.

Brigadier-general Zaher al-sakat, who served as head of chemical warfare in the powerful 5th Division of the Syrian military until he defected in 2013, said the most strategic sites – including a depot called Taqsis in the central province of Homs – were not hit in Saturday’s strikes.

He said: “Taqsis depot is what we wanted to be hit. As long as it’s still functioning then they’ll still have chemical weapons and the ability to produce more.”

The 54-year-old general, who left the Syrian army and joined the opposition Free Syrian Army (FSA) after he said he was ordered to carry out a number of chemical attacks on civilians, has maintained contact with officials inside Syria who share intelligence

with him. He said Assad had moved equipment away from the sites that were hit because there was sufficient prior warning of the attacks.

The Russian military, which spoke with Assad yesterday, said he was in a “good mood” after the strikes, privately relieved that the three countries had not targeted more vital infrastructure.

Mr Corbyn’s call for an emergency debate tomorrow will be countered by Mrs May, who will make her own application for a debate, but without a meaningful vote at the end of it. Other parties are also said to be considering submitting applications. It will be down to the Speaker to decide what happens.

If a debate goes ahead it will happen on Tuesday afternoon, and Julian Smith, the Tory Chief Whip, has issued a three-line whip to Conservative MPS.

The debate applications will be made under Standing Order 24 of the Commons rules and, while they do not result in binding votes, any defeat for Mrs May over Syria would weaken her politically and make it harder in future to take military action without the backing of MPS. Several Tories have already said they believe Mrs May should have put the matter to a vote, increasing the danger of a defeat for the Government.

It emerged yesterday that a British Astute class submarine expected to take part in the missile strikes did not fire any weapons after it was involved in an undersea cat and mouse game with Russian vessels. At least one Russian sub, two Russian frigates and an anti-submarine aircraft are understood to have been searching for the British vessel as it maneouvred to within missile range of Syria.

French President Emmanuel Macron said yesterday he had convinced US President Donald Trump to maintain troops in Syria, as he defended France’s participation in joint airstrikes. In telephone calls before the strikes, Macron said he had persuaded Mr Trump not to pull out of Syria. “We convinced him it was necessary to remain there,” he said.