Navy, Army and RAF set for intelligence unit shake-up amid growing global threats
The Ministry of Defense is strengthening its intelligence operations in a major move to strengthen the UK’s defenses against evolving global threats.
This strategic overhaul follows revelations from the investigation into Dawn Sturgess’s 2018 Novichok poisoning, which highlighted that foreign intelligence services are now operating “far beyond the norms of traditional espionage”, according to the Ministry of Defence.
The report’s findings, which concluded that the Russian GRU military intelligence team attempted to assassinate Sergei Skripal by applying a nerve agent to his doorknob in Salisbury, led Britain to impose sanctions on the entire GRU establishment.
The change, announced on Friday, brings together units from the Royal Navy, British Army, Royal Air Force, UK Space Command and Permanent Joint Headquarters to accelerate information collection from land, sea, air, space and cyberspace.
Following recommendations from the strategic defense review, the establishment of Military Intelligence Services comes as hostile states escalate attacks on cyber networks, satellites and global shipping lanes and the spread of disinformation.
The department is also establishing a new Defense Counterintelligence Unit to counter hostile intelligence activity against the Department of Defense, which has increased by more than 50 percent in the past year.
Defense Secretary John Healey said: “We are making defense intelligence smarter as threats grow.
“This Government is putting Britain at the forefront of military innovation by delivering the recommendations in the Strategic Defense Review.
“From an intelligence perspective, this means advanced technology, clearer structures and faster data flows. This gives us sharper information about what our adversaries may do next, so we protect our forces, protect critical infrastructure and deter changing threats.
“Our intelligence work is often invisible but always essential. I am grateful to all our Military Intelligence Services personnel who remain vigilant 24 hours a day and keep the UK safe at home and strong abroad.”
Military Intelligence Services will operate under the command of Cyber and Special Operations Command.
Its commander, General Sir Jim Hockenhull, said intelligence operations “supporting” defense were “always on” in an “increasingly complex and volatile world where threats are always evolving”.
He said: “The establishment of the Military Intelligence Services and the Defense Counter-Intelligence Unit are important steps towards strengthening the UK’s ability to anticipate threats, deliver faster and more precise action, support our Armed Forces and protect our citizens.”
Sir Keir Starmer said the Dawn Sturgess inquiry showed the UK must “remain vigilant” against “reckless” Russian hostile activity on British soil.
“We are doing everything we can to protect our citizens from all kinds of threats, whether it be intelligence or operations conducted from such places, especially threats now coming from Russia,” the prime minister said last week.
