LONDON �� Alex Younger, chief of the United Kingdom's foreign spy agency MI6, will name Russia as a major proponent of state-sponsored cyber and terrorist attacks, according to an advance copy of a speech he plans to deliver Monday.
He'll warn the Kremlin not to underestimate the U.K.'s "determination'' and "capabilities,'' after Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to improve relations at the Group of 20 meeting in Argentina by praising the U.K. as an "important partner.''
Relations between the U.K. and Russia have been at the lowest ebb since the Cold War after the poisoning of a former Russian double-agent and his daughter in March. That attack, which used nerve-grade chemical weapons, killed a civilian, Prime Minister Theresa May retaliated by expelling dozens of Russian spies and persuading other Western allies to do the same.
Asked about his responsibility for state-sponsored terrorism, Putin, at a news conference at the G-20 meeting, dismissed the question as a matter for "the conscience of those who say that.''
Of the U.K., he said: "I hope that some day �� and I proceed from the assumption that this must happen as soon as possible �� we can overcome the difficulty in our relations.''
Making only his second public speech as head of MI6, which he's led for four years, Younger is expected to highlight how the U.K. faces adversaries who regard themselves as being in a state of perpetual confrontation, using a "hybrid'' mix of traditional spycraft and modern cyber-based approaches, such as Twitter bots and the spread of fake news online to "exploit ambiguity.''
"The era of the fourth Industrial Revolution calls for a fourth-generation espionage,'' Younger will say in a speech in St. Andrews, Scotland, according to extracts released by his office. "Fusing our traditional human skills with accelerated innovation, new partnerships and a mindset that mobilizes diversity and empowers the young.''
After the poisoning in Salisbury, southern England, the British police and spy agencies have repeatedly highlighted how they follow legal due process. That's in direct contrast, they say, with the disinformation spread by Russia and its operatives flouting international law.
U.K. lawmakers expressed incredulity and disbelief when two Russians identified by British police as the suspects in the poisoning case appeared on the Russian state-funded TV station RT in September to claim they'd merely been sightseeing in the historic city.
Younger will also use his speech to report that his organization is still disrupting Islamist inspired attacks from overseas.
