UK 'able to interdict' Russian Shadow Fleet vessels insists Defence Minister amid claims Royal Navy blocked from boarding tankers

Speaking with Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, Labour minister Luke Pollard insisted suggestions that the Navy were barred from boarding Russian vessels were inaccurate.

The claims come after Russian ships were seen to sail through the Channel yesterday, flanked by British vessels, with the vessels continuing on their journey rather than being seized by the Navy.

"We retain the ability to interdict at a time of our choosing," Pollard insisted. "I won't be able to tell you exactly when that will be, but it's precisely that ambiguity and the options available to us that supports that deterrence against Russian activity.

"And we will be continuing to clamp down on the Shadow Fleet activities, working with our allies to do so."

It comes after Dame Emily Thornberry suggested the government should 'be much more assertive' in tackling Russia's Shadow Fleet in UK waters following suggestions the Royal Navy has been blocked from boarding vessels.

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Backing the stance of her colleague, Thornberry refuted claims that members of the navy have been blocked from boarding Putin's vessels by the Attorney General, Lord Hermer.

"We have the powers to go after the Shadow Fleet," Thornberry insisted, adding: "I think we should be much more assertive when it comes to Shadow Fleet."

"I have made my views clear," she told LBC. "I've not spoken directly to the Prime Minister about it, but I have made my views clear."

In response, a government source rejected the claims, saying: “The Attorney General has been working alongside the Defence Secretary to step up action against Russian shadow fleet activity.

"They both recently convened representatives from Joint Expeditionary Force ally nations to discuss the legal framework for military action.”

It comes just a month after Sir Keir Starmer announced that British troops would be able to raid Russia's shadow fleet tankers if they pass through UK waters.

But despite the posturing, no Russian tankers have been seized even though they have continued to sail through the Channel.

The Telegraph reports that Lord Hermer has told the Government that special forces or National Crime Agency (NCA) officers could board the tankers, but fears of breaches of maritime law have meant none have actually been taken.

The revelation comes after Vladimir Putin mocked Starmer's threat by sending a warship to escort them through the strait on Wednesday.

A Black Sea fleet frigate, the Admiral Grigorovich, accompanied two shadow fleet ships through the Channel with a Royal Navy vessel following behind.

In response, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told LBC on Thursday: “What I can tell you is that we have given permission now for action to be taken against the Russian shadow fleet. Operational decisions then have to be taken in the right way by the military.

“There are indications of the way in which not just the Russian shadow fleet is operating, but also the way in which we are seeing increased Russian threats, not just to the UK, but across Europe as well.

“We will be saying more about this shortly."

Moscow's shadow fleet is reported to be made up of more than a thousand ageing tankers - with revenues directly fuelling Putin's war in Ukraine.

The fleet illicitly ships oil and other goods out of Russia by flying the flags of other countries, with the aim of evading sanctions imposed by the West since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Starmer announced the authorisation for seizure last month at a meeting of the Joint Expeditionary Force, a military coalition of 10 northern European countries led by the UK, which aims to defend against Russian incursions.

It also includes Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.

JEF countries Finland, Sweden and Estonia have recently intercepted suspected shadow tankers travelling through the Baltic.

Closing off British waters to the shadow fleet was aimed at forcing the Russian vessels into taking longer, more costly sea routes, or risk being intercepted by the UK.

But the fiasco regarding Britain's HMS Dragon warship heading to Cyprus appears to have emboldened Russia to test Starmer's resolve.

Donald Trump has called Britain's naval fleet "toys", while the American defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, has openly mocked the "big, bad Royal Navy" in recent weeks.