Navy intercepts two Russian ships in English Channel

Two Russian warships were intercepted in the English Channel by the Royal Navy, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.

In the latest incident involving Russia's ships entering waters around the UK, HMS Severn headed off the RFN Stoikiy, a corvette and Yelnya, a tanker, as they sailed west through the Dover Strait into the English Channel in the past fortnight.

Last week, it emerged that the Russian spy ship Yantar was spotted off the coast of Scotland and it used lasers to disrupt RAF pilots tracking its movements.

Defence Secretary John Healey branded the Yantar's move "deeply dangerous" and warned Russia and its president Vladimir Putin: "We see you. We know what you're doing. We are ready."

Healey said last week that there had been a 30% increase in Russian vessels threatening UK waters in the past two years.

The MoD said after intercepting the Stoikiy and the Yelnya, the HMS Severn later handed over monitoring duties to a Nato ally off the coast of Brittany, north west France.

It said the UK ship "continued to observe from a distance and remained ready to respond to any unexpected activity".

It is not the first time the Stoikiy has been in British territory.

In May, the Royal Navy dispatched two vessels and the 814 Naval Air Squadron - also known as the "flying tigers" - to shadow the Russian warship as it sailed west through the English Channel to meet the Sparta IV and General Skobelev.

The two merchant vessels were returning from the Mediterranean and the group headed back to the Baltic Sea, watched by HMS Hurworth.

Healey has said that the rise in Russian activity in UK waters was evidence of increased "Russian aggression right across the board" which he says is impacting Europe, not just Ukraine.

At a news conference in Downing Street last week, the defence secretary said he had changed the Royal Navy's rules of engagement so that it could follow the Yantar more closely "when it is in our wider waters".

Built in 2002, HMS Severn is a River-class offshore patrol vessel. Together with her sister ships, HMS Tyne and HMS Mersey, the Royal Navy says the ships are able to "escort passing foreign warships, mount fishing vessel inspections and defend the UK border".