Britain and Europe must urgently unite to fight back against escalating attacks by Russia and other hostile states, Yvette Cooper is set to warn on Tuesday in a major speech.
Just 24 hours after Sir Keir Starmer led a mini summit to try to prevent Ukraine being forced into a humiliating deal to get peace with Russia, the foreign secretary will say that ongoing cyber attacks and disinformation are the new front in the war against Vladimir Putin.
Ms Cooper will tell an audience of diplomats that there is an “escalating” danger to the UK and Europe, adding: “Across Europe we are witnessing an escalation in hybrid threats – from physical through to cyber – designed to weaken critical national infrastructure, undermine our interests and interfere in our democracies all for the advantage of malign foreign states.
“By flooding social media with generative AI and manipulated videos, they can gradually undermine support for our major allies like Ukraine with lies – hitting our collective resolve to support Ukraine’s resistance to Russia’s illegal invasion.”
It comes just a day after president Volodymyr Zelensky told a meeting in Downing Street on the future of Ukraine that his country cannot survive with European and US backing.
German chancellor Friedrich Merz said ahead of the talks hosted Sir Keir that he is “sceptical” about details in the US-backed peace proposal for Ukraine.
He warned: “This could be a decisive time for all of us, so we are trying to continue our support for Ukraine.
“We are still – and remain – strongly behind Ukraine because we all know that the destiny of this country is the destiny of Europe.”
Ms Cooper’s speech comes against a background of disinformation on social media, which is being used in America and Europe to undermine support for Nato and the war in Ukraine.
Her speech also comes as the UK and EU are locked in talks over the depth of a new defence deal to face threats together with strong disagreement over how much the UK should pay.
The comments come less than a week after the report into the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury, saying that Putin bore “moral responsibility” for the attack that also took the life of Dawn Sturgess.
Ms Cooper will note that the so-called free speech debate is overshadowing attempts to deal with Russian disinformation. But she will insist that the two issues are separate.
She will say: “This isn’t about legitimate debate on contentious issues. Plenty of people in the UK have strong views on migration, gender and climate. But they are our debates to have – not those for foreign states to use as their playground, trying to sow division to advance their own interests.”
Last year, the UK suffered around 7.8 million cyber attacks, equating to around 21,000 a day, with many coming from Russia, China, North Korea and other hostile states.
Major cyber attacks have in recent months hit the NHS, media companies, Jaguar Land Rover and Marks and Spencer, causing massive economic and social damage.
Ms Cooper’s speech will mark the centenary of the historic Locarno Treaty that sought to secure post-First World War peace and borders in Europe; the foreign secretary will warn in the room named after that agreement that a new version is required for the 21st century.
But laying out the much wider threat posed by Moscow, Ms Cooper will say that information warfare – designed to weaken infrastructure and interfere in democracies – is the new frontline of international conflict and poses significant threats to the UK and its allies.
“A hundred years ago, such malign actors or state-sponsored disrupters may have relied on expertly forged documents or carefully planted stories to manipulate public opinion, but today’s technology is lowering the barrier to entry – meaning more actors, with less skill, can work on behalf of regimes abroad,” she will say.
“They can interfere with free and fair elections, so that Western interests are weakened.”
The talks in Downing Street, chaired by Sir Keir, involved Germany’s chancellor Friedrich Merz and French president Emmanuel Macron as well as President Zelensky.
They came amid growing concerns over the peace deal Donald Trump is attempting to broker with Russia, with a background of anger over continuing support for Ukraine by his Maga supporters.
Fears have been raised that the deal will humiliate Ukraine and force it to give up too much territory as well as the right to defend itself.
Sir Keir and his German and French counterparts have been seeking to set up a coalition of the willing to ensure Ukraine is protected in the future.
It is hoped that the conclusions of the meeting can be used to persuade President Trump to change his stance.
