Britain’s super secret security services have been anonymously briefing the right-wing press over Theresa May’s plans to launch a cyber war against Russia, in retaliation for the alleged involvement in the Salisbury poisonings.
The Times, the Daily Mail and The Sun all referenced government sources, in their pieces on what UK Prime Minister Theresa May is planning in retaliation against Russia.
In her statement to parliament, Wednesday, May alluded to counter-measures against Moscow over the alleged involvement of two Russian military officers – named as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov – in the poisonings of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury and Charlie Rowley and Dawn Sturgess in Amesbury.
The activities of Russia were, for May, a threat “all our allies and to all our citizens,” she then promised to do “whatever is necessary to keep our people safe”.
May, expectedly, didn't tell parliament how authorities came to the conclusion that the pair worked for the GRU, an assertion that wasn’t made by counter-terror police when they initially announced the suspects identities.
According to “a senior government official,” referenced in the Times, “The evidence that Russia carried out a chemical weapons attack on British soil has increased the actions the UK can take in self-defense.”
Anonymous sources were also referenced in the Daily Mail and the Sun. In the latter, “a senior security source” is quoted as saying: “They’re going to have pay a cost for what they’ve done. Nothing is off the table now.”
The Rupert Murdoch owned Sun, states: “sources insisted there was “no doubt” on the Joint Intelligence Committee – the overall security body that supervised the long investigation – that the Skrpial [sic] “wet job” was authorized by Putin personally.”
Not wanting to miss out, The Daily Mail also referenced the cyberwarfare threats, but didn't give a source for the information.
As well as cyberwarfare, the UK is planning more financial sanctions, travel bans and conventional espionage against Russia, as detailed in all three pieces.
On Thursday morning, during an interview on BBC Radio 4, UK’s Security Minister Ben Wallace on retaliation against Russia said: “We do all the time, but we retaliate in our way.
"We are not the Russians, we don't adopt the sort of thuggish, destructive and aggressive behaviour that we have seen.
"We choose to challenge the Russians in both the overt and the covert space, within the rule of law and in a sophisticated way."
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