Former national security adviser Lord Ricketts stated that the United Kingdom government must increase spending to protect key infrastructure against hybrid attacks. In an interview with BBC Radio 4, Ricketts identified energy, transport, and air traffic control as areas requiring improved resilience to counter non-military methods of destabilization, such as hacking and sabotage.
The warning follows a recent assessment by MI5 Director General Sir Ken McCallum, who reported that threats from foreign states, including Russia and Iran, have quadrupled over the last decade. Ricketts noted that these assessments suggest a risk of worse to come in the UK or on other NATO territory. While Russia has denied involvement in such activities, several European nations have recently reported incidents they attribute to Moscow, including a drone incident at an airport in Leipzig, Germany.
Ricketts characterized these hybrid operations as increasingly reckless and dangerous, suggesting they could lead to loss of life. He stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin is attempting to undermine morale across European countries alongside military actions in Ukraine. Ricketts also advised the UK government to focus on coordinating with allied nations rather than attempting to mediate between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. President Donald Trump, following Trump's recent decision to block sanctions on Russia.
The scale of the reported threat is significant, with the head of the Security Service (MI5) documenting a fourfold increase in foreign state threats over the past 10 years. An ordinary resident might notice these changes through government public awareness campaigns, which Ricketts urged ministers to initiate, or through increased security protocols at transport hubs. The broader impact involves the stability of NATO territory and the coordination of European defense policies in response to non-traditional warfare tactics that bypass conventional military engagement.
These warnings set a precedent for treating cyber-attacks and misinformation as physical security priorities on par with conventional defense. The knock-on effects include potential shifts in how the UK allocates its national budget between frontline military equipment and domestic infrastructure protection. The next steps involve the UK government's response to these spending recommendations and the ongoing monitoring of infrastructure by MI5. No specific dates for new budget votes or policy implementations were reported in the source.