John Healey warned Vladimir Putin ‘we see you, we know what you are doing and we will not shy away from robust action’.

The Royal Navy has been monitoring a Russian spy ship after it was spotted around UK waters earlier this week, the defence secretary has told MPs. John Healey said the vessel, Yantar, was used for gathering intelligence and mapping the UK's critical underwater infrastructure.

A Royal Navy submarine was authorized to surface close to a Russian ship "strictly as a deterrent measure," British Defense Secretary John Healey said.