Putin trying to intimidate with activities in UK, former MI6 chief says

Putin trying to intimidate with activities in UK, former MI6 chief says6 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleAnna LamchePASir Richard Moore led MI6 until last yearRussian President Vladimir Putin is "trying to intimidate" the UK with sabotage, arson and cyber attacks on British streets, according to the former head of MI6.Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Sir Richard Moore said Putin was "keen to expand the battlefield" beyond the war in Ukraine by interfering against countries supporting Kyiv in ways that do not "cross the threshold into open conflict".His comments came after the BBC revealed that Russia was behind arson attacks targeting property and a car linked to the prime minister.Sir Richard said proxy attacks showed Britain needed to have a "discussion" about "the balance of resourcing for security and defence".On Monday, two men were found guilty of conspiring to carry out arson attacks on property and a car connected to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.Prosecutors found the attacks were carried out in 2025 after a suspect was recruited online by Russian-speaking Telegram user "El Money" who promised him payment.A BBC Panorama investigation uncovered evidence suggesting he is a 23-year-old Russian diplomat Evgeny Lyukshin, the son of a senior official who has been schooled in information warfare by spies and propagandists.The BBC found that "El Money" offered Russian citizenship in return for other attacks, and glorified Putin in messages. Accounts based in Russian also spread spread disinformation on the motive for the attacks.The government and intelligence services have not yet said the Kremlin was behind the incident, but Sir Richard commended the BBC's reporting and said "we shouldn't be surprised at all" if Russian involvement was confirmed.He claimed Putin was under pressure over the war in Ukraine which meant he was "quite keen to ex...