British warships shadowed a surfaced Russian attack submarine passing through the English Channel.
The Kilo-class sub Krasnodar was watched carefully by the crew of the UK’s heavily armed HMS Tyne and HMS Mersey amid heightened tensions with Moscow.
It is thought the submarine had been on operations in the eastern Mediterranean, possibly backing the Syrian Assad regime or spying on NATO warships in the area.
The French Navy had shadowed the vessel off the Brittany coast before passing on escort duty to the Royal Navy on Sunday through to Monday.
It is possible the submarine surfaced as it was on the way back to its Russian base because of the shallow Channel and to avoid heavy shipping.
Lieutenant Commander Will Edwards-Bannon, HMS Mersey’s commanding officer, said: “It has been impressive to see, first-hand, the seamless co-ordination between allied ships and aircraft from various nations involved in this operation.”
The news comes as the Government is poised to ramp up MI5’s powers to tackle undeclared Russian spies by making their presence in the UK illegal.
It follows the report into Kremlin interference in the Brexit referendum, which called for a crackdown on spy activity in the UK.
Included in a review of the Official Secrets Act will be a form of foreign intelligence officer registration, which spies will have to sign on entering the UK or risk being prosecuted and jailed.
It is not currently a crime to live here as an undercover officer.
Sources say the undeclared “illegals” are trained in Soviet-style spy schools outside Moscow.
