Our enemies will exploit Britain’s vulnerability

In future we should recall those states that worsened the pandemic with lies and conspiracy theories

With our Prime Minister unwell, most people subjected to wide-ranging restrictions on their personal liberty and the economy teetering on the brink of collapse, Britain is experiencing a level of vulnerability that has not been seen since the darkest days of the Second World War. And it is at times like these, when ministers are preoccupied with devising an effective strategy for tackling the pandemic, that it is crucial we remain on our guard against those who might seek to exploit our dire predicament to their advantage.

One of the first issues that must be addressed when a prime minister becomes incapacitated is who has ultimate control over the country’s nuclear codes. Thus, as soon as it became known that Boris Johnson had been moved to the intensive care unit at St Thomas’ Hospital on Monday evening, emergency protocols were put in place to ensure the Government retained its control over Britain’s stockpile of around 200 nuclear warheads.

The fact that Britain’s nuclear deterrent, as well as the rest of our national defence infrastructure, remains in place at this critical time should be sufficient to persuade the likes of Russia and other rogue states not to threaten our security. It was only last month, after all, that the Royal Navy was required to shadow seven Russian warships following what officers described as “unusually high levels of activity” in the English Channel and North Sea.

Of equal concern, though, must be the attempts being made to undermine the Government’s handling of the pandemic by more insidious forms of modern warfare, such as generating fake news or spreading deliberate misinformation about the origins and causes of the virus.

The ability of fake news reports to provoke an instant violent reaction on the streets of Britain can be seen with the recent spate of attacks against at least 20 mobile-phone masts during the past week. These attacks were prompted by social media posts that falsely claimed the construction of the new 5G telecoms network was somehow linked to the spread of coronavirus.

The Government has responded to the threat posed by fake news by ordering the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to set up a dedicated cross-whitehall unit to counter coronavirus-related disinformation from the likes of Russia and China. Its attempts to persuade social media companies to rebut inaccurate claims about the disease, however, have to date met with mixed results.

Of far greater concern, though, is the deliberate misinformation being disseminated by countries like China, Russia and Iran about the true impact of the virus on their citizens. The misinformation campaign being undertaken by these countries, designed to cover up their own mishandling of the pandemic, makes it immensely more difficult for British scientists to acquire a comprehensive picture of the origins and development of coronavirus, thereby undermining the Government’s efforts to navigate a way out of the crisis.

As Professor David Harper, a global health specialist, told a recent session of the Commons foreign affairs select committee, “communication is always a big issue” in dealing with pandemics. Therefore the failure of these three countries, as well as others, to give an accurate and transparent account of their own experiences has “obscured analysis in the critical early stages of the pandemic”.

Given the negative impact the hostile behaviour of rogue regimes such as these is having on Britain’s efforts to overcome the pandemic, it is vital that, once this crisis is over, their unwillingness to help us in our hour of need must inform our post-pandemic world view.

First and foremost, there must be a clear alignment with those countries that were open about their efforts to tackle the challenge, and which were prepared to share – to the best of their ability – their scientific knowledge of the virus, as well as providing practical support in terms of vital medical equipment.

Their willingness to offer assistance will be in stark contrast to the lies and disinformation that has been forthcoming from Russia, China and Iran.

Moreover, ministers must take more care to avoid making unnecessary mistakes when dealing with a national emergency, such as the scandal of the botched purchase of coronavirus testing kits from China.

Because finding an effective test is crucial for ending the lockdown, claims by Public Health England that a fingerprick test developed by China was a “game changer” and could be in use within days understandably raised hopes of a breakthrough. Now the Government is facing the embarrassment of having to ask Beijing for a refund after the tests were found to be too unreliable for use by the public.

This fiasco shows why it is so important that, in future, the Government must make sure it is dealing with countries it can rely upon to help, rather than those that will cause it yet further trouble.