Jamie Stone demands statement over alleged Russian spy ship 'snooping around' Beatrice wind farm
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Jamie Stone has called on the defence secretary to make a statement to the House of Commons about an alleged Russian spy ship that has been "snooping around" the Beatrice wind farm site.
The Liberal Democrat MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross raised a point of order in parliament warning of a potential threat to national energy security and asking why the UK government had remained quiet on the issue.
Broadcasters in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland who carried out a joint investigation claimed that Russia has a fleet of vessels disguised as trawlers and research boats operating in parts of the North Sea, including the Moray Firth.
In a documentary series that had its premiere last week, journalists from DR, NRK, SVT and Yle allege Russia is waging "hybrid warfare" which includes espionage activity and advanced underwater programmes – prompting fears about possible sabotage to wind farms and communication cables in the North Sea.
The broadcasters focused on a Russian ship, the Admiral Vladimirsky, officially classed as an underwater research vessel. They allege that it is actually a spy ship, part of a fleet checking key energy sites.
Mr Stone, who declared last week it was inconceivable that a hostile state should be allowed to pose such a threat, said on Wednesday: "It's not a trawler, it's not a pleasure boat. It's a spy ship – complete with armed guards."
After raising the point of order, Mr Stone said: "Reports of Russian vessels cruising in the North Sea have been circulating for almost a week and yet the government remains quiet. We have seen what happens when Russia is allowed to infiltrate its enemies' borders and we should not, under any circumstances, permit Russian spy ships to move unchecked through the UK's waters.
"This is of great national importance. The North Sea is the UK's most vital energy asset, home to both oil and wind. These ships could be seeking to gain intelligence, or simply to destroy our energy infrastructure.
"Either way, the country cannot afford to bear the brunt of the consequences.
"I hope that the defence secretary [Ben Wallace] will come to the Commons at the earliest opportunity to make a statement about what the government is doing to protect us all against this impending threat."
In the Commons, Mr Stone warned that the Admiral Vladimirsky had been "cruising off the coast of my constituency" and "snooping around" the Beatrice wind farm and oilfields.
"I regard this as a very important security issue," he said. "It affects the United Kingdom and our security in terms of energy."
The Deputy Speaker, Dame Rosie Winterton, told Mr Stone: "At this point, we have had no notice of a statement. But again, his comments will have been heard and I'm sure that they will be fed back to the secretary of state."
The £2.5 billion Beatrice wind farm is 13km from the Caithness coast at its nearest point. It is Scotland's second largest offshore wind farm, with 84 turbines giving a capacity of 588MW.
Explosions last September on the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines between Russia and Europe are suspected to have been a result of sabotage.
A UK government spokesperson said: “Our priority will always be maintaining our national security. That is why we increased Royal Navy presence patrols after the Nord Stream incident and have invested £65 million in the first of our two multi-role ocean surveillance ships.”
