UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has assured that his government «will do whatever it takes» to defend itself against possible spy balloons after the United States had to shoot down suspicious objects flying over its airspace.
Although Sunak did not go into further details citing «national security concerns», the British Prime Minister said that the UK is in «constant contact» with its main allies.
«I want people to know that we will do whatever is necessary to maintain the security of the country (…) We have something called a rapid reaction alert force,» Sunak reassured, referring to this special corps made up of fighter planes ready 24 hours a day, seven days a week to monitor British airspace.
Questioned about his fears about the possible appearance of suspicious objects in British skies, Sunak avoided commenting, although he appealed to the population for peace of mind. «We have all the capabilities to maintain the security of the country,» he said.
Earlier, Transport Minister Richard Holden suggested that the UK could also have been the scene of a spy balloon overflight by Chinese authorities.
Speaking to Sky News, Holden said that the Chinese government could be trying to act «as a hostile state» against the UK, which would now have to be «firm» in its relations with the Asian giant, admitting that Downing Street is «concerned about what is happening».
Before these words of the Prime Minister, his Minister of Defense, Ben Wallace, had also advanced that London would carry out a review of its security in view of what has happened in recent days on US territory.
The U.S. authorities have confirmed in recent days the shooting down of up to four suspicious objects flying over part of its waters or territorial platform. One of them, the first, turned out to be an allegedly spy balloon of which China acknowledged its existence but stressed that it had scientific and meteorological purposes.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
