The Prime Minister has announced a new National Centre for Information Defence to counter Russia's disinformation campaigns, online lies and deepfakes. The announcement was made at the UN General Assembly in New York.
The unit will be tasked with tackling Russia's information warfare and will work alongside intelligence agencies, government departments, the police and social media companies. It is to be led initially out of the Office for the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
Industrial-scale assault warning
Mr Burnham warned Britain and its allies are facing an “industrial-scale assault” online by Russia and other hostile states. He accused Russian agencies of using “every means at their disposal” to “spread lies and disinformation and prey on people's fear”.
“We're talking about an insidious campaign that reaches into people's homes and twists what they feel about their own country and community – creating a narrative of decline, stoking division and sowing despair,” Mr Burnham said.
Britain claims the Kremlin is spending around £1.3billion each year on “manipulating information”.
Space defence unit created
In a separate development, a new military unit tasked with defending satellites has been created as Defence Secretary Wes Streeting warns the UK must “keep pace in the new space race”.
Speaking at this week's UK Space Power Conference in London, the Chief of the Air Staff said space has “become a warfighting domain whether we like that or not”. Air Chief Marshal Sir Harv Smyth pointed to recent Russian behaviour, including “dangerous” manoeuvres by Moscow's military satellites near Finnish commercial satellites, as evidence of the rising dangers.
He warned of “unprecedented threats” in space, adding major disruption to GPS could cost Britain an eyewatering £1.4billion a day. The new unit, called No 3 Space Effects Squadron, will “disrupt, degrade and deny hostile activity to defend UK space interests”, the RAF chief added.
Hawk jet crash investigation
Shocking footage of a Hawk T2 crashing shortly after taking off from RAF Valley, Anglesey, North Wales, has raised concerns over the fleet. The two pilots, who ejected moments before the jet hit the ground and exploded into a ball of flames, are expected to make a full recovery.
Operations of the ageing jets have been temporarily paused as a “precautionary measure” while investigations continue. The Hawk T2 is used to train the military's fast jet pilots, while the older T1s are still used by the Red Arrows. This incident has only added to concerns over the fleet and the aircraft's successor, which still hasn't been decided.
