I was in the room as John Healey dropped spy ship bombshell

Reporters were told that there would be an update on the threats Britain faces – but the fact a Russian spyship is on the edge of British waters was an unexpected development from John Healey

Ahead of Defence Secretary John Healey’s press conference this morning, we were promised an update on the threats Britain faces.

But the announcement that a Russian spy ship had directed lasers at RAF pilots was an unexpected moment. Mr Healey coldly told the gathered reporters that the latest escalation was “deeply dangerous”.

The spy vessel, the Yantar, is on the edge of UK waters carrying out survellience on our underwater cables, we were told. If there was any doubting the seriousness of what Mr Healey was telling us, he went on: “We have military options ready should the Yantar change course.”

It’s not unusual to hear the Defence Secretary painting a gloomy picture – he was talking about the danger Moscow poses long before he took office. But the fact the latest development comes after Poland accused Russia of masterminding an explosion on a railway line hammers home the seriousness of the moment.

Mr Healey opened the press conference by saying: “As I speak a Russian spy ship, the Yantar, is on the edge of UK waters, north of Scotland, having entered the UK’s wider waters over the last few weeks. This is a vessel designed for gathering intelligence and mapping out undersea cables.

“We deployed a Royal Navy frigate and RAF plans to monitor and track this vessel’s every move, during which the Yantar directed lasers at our pilots. That Russian action is deeply dangerous, and this is the second time this year that this ship began to deploy to UK waters.”

The Cabinet member is not one to mince his words when it comes to Vladimir Putin. Addressing the Russian despot directly he said: “So my message to Russia and to Putin is this we see you, we know what you’re doing, and if the Yantar travels south this week, we’re ready.”

Mr Healey said we are now in a “new era of hard power” as he tried to hammer home how bad things are. “This is also a stark reminder that we are in a new era of threat,” he said. “Our world is changing.

“It’s less predictable. It is more dangerous.” The development comes a week before Rachel Reeves sets out her Budget, with defence among the key areas expected to benefit. It can’t come soon enough – an alarming report by the Commons Defence Committee published today warned the UK does not have a plan to defend itself from attack.

After turning his fire on Putin, he had some choice words for Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch too. “Only Labour has this belief in the extraordinary strengths of Great Britain,” he said.

“The Tories will cut defence again. The Greens want to pull us out of Nato, the SNP spurn the proud Scottish defence industry and Nigel Farage, he’s soft on Putin, weak on Nato and not to be trusted on national security. It’s Labour that is the party of defence.”