by The UK Ministry of Defense is launching a security review into the possibility of Chinese spy balloons over the UK, meanwhile, the prime minister assures the public that the country’s rapid reaction force is on standby 24 hours a day to deal with aerial threats.
Balloon panic has hit the UK following a series of notable ‘UFO’ shootdowns over North America over the past week, with high-altitude balloons generally credited as Chinese spy aircraft destroyed over US and Canadian territories. Now, questions are being asked in London about whether the UK has ever been the target of a Chinese spy balloon – a redundant effort, perhaps, given the advanced state of Chinese influence in the country – with senior government figures moving to reassure the public. that they are safe from balloons.
Does Rishi Sunak know of any spy balloons over the UK?
“We will do whatever it takes to keep the country safe”, says the Prime Minister, “we are in constant contact with our allies” https://t.co/rjCm3NOvay pic.twitter.com/jEgvLMH3nt
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) February 13, 2023
This began on Sunday night with comments from British Defense Minister Ben Wallace who said there would be a safety review on spy balloons in the UK and whether the US and Canadian experiences meant the UK needed to make changes to how monitored its own airspace. A report on Wallace’s comments in the daily telegraph notes that questions are being asked about whether Chinese spy balloons have ever crossed the UK, and it’s a possibility the MoD has yet to rule out.
Wallace said: “The UK and its allies will review what these airspace encroachments mean for our security. This development is another sign of how the global threat picture is changing for the worse.”
Those remarks were followed by further comments by the Prime Minister on Monday morning, when he was directly asked if he was aware of any Chinese balloons over the UK. While the prime minister twice dodged a direct question about whether the UK had detected any balloons yet, he said that Royal Air Force jets – a group of which are in a constant state of readiness to protect UK airspace United, regardless of problems with balloons – were ready. to defend the country.
Rishi Sunak told the BBC: “Well, I want people to know that we will do whatever it takes to keep the country safe. We have something called the Quick Reaction Alert Force, which involves Typhoon planes that are kept on standby 24/7 to police our airspace, which is incredibly important.
“Obviously I cannot comment on details on national security matters, but we are in constant contact with our allies and, as I said, we will do whatever it takes to keep the country safe.”
The Chinese spy balloon that flew over the continental United States last week was equipped with antennas likely capable of picking up communications. https://t.co/0v8c9es3UF
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) February 10, 2023
