FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
Fears of a Russian plot to sabotage UK energy pipelines mean every household should prepare a 72-hour 'survival pack', security advisers have warned.
As the UK pursues environmental targets, closing coal-fired power plants, the country has become increasingly dependent on foreign gas and electricity supplies to 'keep the lights on'.
Nearly 40 percent of the UK's gas supply is imported from Norway, most of which comes through the single, 700-mile Langeled pipeline.
Concerns that the Russians are planning a sabotage operation have escalated after one of their spy ships, Yantar, was discovered mapping critical UK underwater infrastructure in the North Sea in recent months.
In such conditions, security experts have argued that British families should follow the example of the EU, which has advised citizens to prepare a three-day survival kit.
This should include water, non-perishable food, medicine, battery-powered radio, flashlight, identity documents, etc.
The protection of critical underwater infrastructure will be part of the Government's Strategic Defence Review (SDR) by former NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson this year.
This comes after Moscow was linked to a string of apparent sabotage incidents in the Baltic Sea in the past two years, affecting cable links and pipelines. Germany's Nord Stream gas pipelines were also sabotaged in 2022.
The Russians are also believed to have placed listening devices on offshore wind turbines in an attempt to track the movement of British submarines.
A source said that "the Russians are active in the North Sea and have the power to damage our energy links. Families should be prepared for all eventualities."
MPs fear that Ed Miliband's obsession with Net Zero has made Britain more vulnerable to Russian sabotage.
The Energy Secretary has pledged to make Britain a 'clean energy superpower' by using fossil fuels for no more than 5 per cent of its electricity by 2030.
The last coal-fired power station in the UK, at Ratcliffe-on-Soar, Nottinghamshire, closed last September, having been in operation since 1967.
The two gigawatts of capacity it once offered was enough to power up to two million homes. In the coming years, the UK is also likely to lose at least two of the nuclear power stations that currently provide a stable supply of electricity and stabilize the entire grid.
This will make the country even more dependent on solar and wind power – where production falls if the wind doesn’t blow or the sun doesn’t shine – supported by a fleet of aging gas-fired power plants.
Sources say the UK's energy supply is currently supported by a handful of ships arriving each week with supplies of liquefied natural gas from Qatar or America. /Adapted from Pamphlet by Daily Mail/
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