Tory brands Royal Navy not seizing Russia ship and supporting French ops as 'weakness' amid ongoing 'threat'
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His reaction drew scorn from the defence secretary in the House of Commons
The Royal Navy not seizing a sanctioned Russian ship and just supporting French forces has been branded as a sign of “weakness”.
Conservative MP David Reed said British forces should be following their European allies and seizing Moscow shadow fleet ships. Tagor, a sanctioned tanker, was boarded by the French Navy on Sunday (May 31).
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President Emmanuel Macron said it was “unacceptable” for Russian ships to circumvent international sanctions and “violate the laws of the sea and fund the war that Russia has been waging against Ukraine for more than four years”. A helicopter onboard the Royal Navy frigate HMS Somerset was used to provide tracking details of Tagor and monitor the situation while French forces boarded the ship.
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer gave the green light for British forces to board Russian-flagged ships carrying sanctioned cargo. Since then, many merchant ships carrying sanctioned cargo have been tightly escorted by Vladimir Putin’s warships. From the time Mr Starmer made the declaration, 184 UK-sanctioned vessels have made 238 journeys through British waters.
Mr Reed, who served as a Royal Marine and as a parachutist in the Royal Navy Parachute Display Team, said France demonstrated that seizing Russian shadow fleet ships in international waters is legal and achievable, and called for action. “The prime minister has confirmed that we have the legal basis to act in our own territorial waters,” he told the House of Commons on Monday (June 1).
“Since that pledge, hundreds of vessels have passed through unchallenged. Does he agree that this is deterrence in reverse? Tough rhetoric with no action. In Moscow, that gap between what Britain says and does will be read as weakness.”
Defence secretary John Healey, Labour, said the comment was dismissive of the involvement of British forces. He added: “This is deterrence in action. I’m surprised he doesn’t recognise the role of the Royal Navy in supporting the French action.
“They were proud to do so. Defence stands ready to lead our own interdiction. What we have signalled to Putin is that he’s having to escort shadow shipping through the English Channel with Russian warships. The rest of his shadow fleet are detouring round the UK. We’re disrupting them and contributing to Russian oil revenues falling by a quarter since last year.”
Mr Reed, MP for Exmouth and Exeter East, proceeded to say that the Attorney General is to blame for British troops not directly seizing Moscow’s ships. The Daily Telegraph reported earlier this year that Attorney General Lord Hermer told the government that special forces or National Crime Agency (NCA) officers could board the tankers, but fears persist of breaching international maritime law have meant none have been taken - effectively blocking the ability to board these vessels.
“There’s a chasm between supporting and leading,” Mr Reed said. “Our allies in Sweden, Finland, and Estonia, have no such hesitation. France and the US have no such hesitation. Can the secretary of state explain why the only person who seems to tie Britain’s hands is his own government’s chief legal officer?”
Mr Healey responded: “The honourable gentleman is entirely wrong with this assertion and his facts. I led with the attorney general a meeting with the ten JEF nations, the legal military experts, which we discussed and shared the legal basis on which we can individually and collectively interdict and seize Russian shadow ships. We’re ready to do so as the UK, and in support of allies - as we have done with France. Together, we’re deterring Putin and disputing his shadow fleet operations.”
Actions from Russian naval ships have been increasing in recent months. A spy vessel was seen loitering near HMS Prince of Wales and the UK Carrier Strike Group during Exercise Dynamic Mongoose.
Earlier in the parliamentary session, Mr Healey said: “Russia poses a significant and persistent threat to UK and Atlantic security. Putin’s illegal war against Ukraine is now in its fifth year. At the same time, Russia conducts hostile cyber activity, disinformation campaigns, and sabotage against the UK and other Nato allies on a daily basis.”