Ben Wallace warns UK defence position is ‘very perilous’ after Russian warship fires warning shots near British couple’s yacht

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The former Defence Secretary told LBC Russia was becoming more aggressive towards the UK, as a former Royal Navy warship captain said the incident appeared to show “Russian maritime incompetence”.

A British couple were sailing their 40ft yacht, Bright Future, from the south coast of England towards France when shots were fired several times from the Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich.

The Ministry of Defence said the Russian vessel fired warning shots after attempts were made to contact the yacht, which was about 20 nautical miles south of the Isle of Wight and outside UK territorial waters.

The MoD said the shots were not aimed at the vessel and were fired in an attempt to prevent a possible collision.

Sir Keir Starmer said the incident was “reckless” and “deeply concerning”, but said the MoD assessment was that it involved a “drifting warship” rather than anything “more sinister”.

But speaking to LBC’s Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, Sir Ben said the incident should be seen in the context of a wider shift in Russian behaviour.

He said: “I think we are seeing a very deliberate change towards the Russian posture when it comes to their views on the United Kingdom.

“I think you’re seeing a lashing out, a more aggressive Russia as it is starting to lose in Ukraine and feel the economic effects, and part of that is an aggressive stance in the Channel.”

The incident came just days after British forces intercepted the Russian shadow fleet oil tanker Smyrtos.

Royal Marines boarded the vessel as part of efforts to disrupt Moscow’s shadow fleet, used to move oil around the world despite sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine.

Sir Ben said: “They know that only recently, the British Royal Marines very successfully intercepted a tanker, part of the 700-strong shadow fleet, and I think they will have encouraged the captain of those ships to go way beyond normal collision avoidance.

“I listened to the interview by the British couple. They did everything they should do under maritime rules.

“I think firing warning shots was a very aggressive and provoking position, but it’s part of Russia trying to assert itself elsewhere.”

Russian warships travelling through the Channel are routinely shadowed by the Royal Navy.

HMS Mersey, an offshore patrol vessel more commonly associated with fisheries protection and maritime security tasks, was monitoring Admiral Grigorovich at the time of the incident.

The Russian frigate is a heavily armed warship, capable of carrying missiles and other weapons systems, leaving the British patrol ship significantly outgunned.

Former Royal Navy warship captain Tom Sharpe, who commanded four warships during more than 20 years in the service, told LBC a yacht passing at around 500 yards should not have been treated as a threat.

He said: “Five hundred yards would be perfectly acceptable to let a yacht pass you and it’s very clear at that range that it’s a family yacht and therefore not a threat.

“At the deeper layer you’ve got the Russian posture issue that Sir Ben outlined. It was drifting south 20 miles south of the Isle of Wight. That’s a very odd place to drift. You’re in the middle of the shipping lane there.

“It’s also 60 miles east of the Smyrtos, the dark fleet ship that we boarded last weekend. So these are all connected at the deeper level.

“But pare all that away and what you find is Russian maritime incompetence.”

Asked what he meant by incompetence, Mr Sharpe said the Russian crew appeared to have panicked.

He said: “To let a yacht doing six knots under sail get so close to you that you now think it’s a threat to you is just maritime incompetence.

“You’re in a warship, you can do 30-plus knots. If you’re really worried, just get away from it.

“The yacht had right of way because it was under sail. There are reports of low visibility, but again, that puts the onus on the warship to have its engines ready for immediate manoeuvre.”

He added: “Initially when I first heard it breaking yesterday, there were so many bits missing about the Russian warship’s behaviour that I did think there was something else going on, that this was strong-arming or messaging.

“But now I think it’s a CO that’s panicked. He’s got an itchy trigger finger.

“That could be caused by the wider situation. It could be direction from the Kremlin to be more robust, but I don’t see it. I think it’s unit-level incompetence.”

Mr Sharpe also warned firing across the bow in the Channel carried obvious risk.

He said: “If you fire a shot across the bow, 60 to 70% of those bullets ricochet off the water and go a very long way, sometimes further than the range of the weapon.

“And you’re doing that in the busiest shipping lane in the world. You’ve got to have a good reason to do that, and a yacht at six knots with a family on it is not a good reason.”

The Russian defence ministry claimed the yacht had been on a “dangerous approach” and said warning shots were fired only after attempts to attract the crew’s attention using signal flares and sound signals.

It said Russian sailors acted “in strict accordance” with international shipping regulations.

But Jane Kelvey, 68, who was on board with her husband Alan, 70, insisted they were not on a collision course. Mr Kelvey described the Russian version of events as “just normal lies”.

After calling the UK Coastguard, who alerted the Royal Navy, the couple received a visit from Navy officials from HMS Tyne. They were also interviewed by the French police after arriving at Cherbourg, more than 12 hours after disembarking from England.

The row comes amid growing concern over Britain’s defence readiness.

Sir Ben said John Healey, who recently resigned as Defence Secretary, had tried to secure more money for the armed forces but had not been backed by the Prime Minister.

He said: “John Healey did his best. He was very loyal to the Prime Minister for nearly two years, and it wasn’t repaid to him.

“He tried to get more money for defence... and then, despite it all, Keir Starmer seemed unable to take that leadership and make the tough decisions.”

Asked how perilous Britain’s defence position now was, Sir Ben said: “It’s very perilous, and I think it starts with honesty and being frank with the public about the state you have of your armed forces and how much money it needs, and the threat we face.

“I’m afraid the traits of this government has been to do defence spending by press release or spin.”

He claimed the Government’s stated defence spending figures included “Treasury tricks” and spending that did not directly strengthen the armed forces.

Sir Ben added: “None of that actually either convinces the Americans or the Russians. It’s complete spin.

“The simple facts are defence needs more money, the threat is growing, and the leader of this country needs to lead.”