GERMANY has been slammed as “neither secure nor reliable” after it accidentally leaked British military secrets to Russia.
Former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace accused Berlin of having been “penetrated” by Russian intelligence while other senior defence figures said the blunder was highly concerning.
Former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the blunder demonstrated Berlin is “neither secure nor reliable”[/caption]
The condemnation comes after a German air force chief’s confidential phone call discussing British military secrets was allegedly intercepted by Russia in a major security breach.
The head of the Luftwaffe, Ingo Gerhartz, told air force officers and a general, who had dialled in from his hotel room, how Britain and France were delivering Storm Shadows missiles to Ukraine.
The German top brass also said British troops were “on the ground” – a highly confidential detail and a move Russia says shows Nato allies are “preparing for war“.
The intercepted 38-minute call was then broadcast across Russian state television, reports The Telegraph.
Gerhartz was caught chatting to Air Force officers and a general via WebEx – an off-the-shelf video chat platform.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the leak was “very serious” and an investigation is now under way.
But Berlin’s reputation is now on the line, with Mr Wallace telling The Times: “We know Germany is pretty penetrated by Russian intelligence so it just demonstrates they are neither secure nor reliable.”
The former chairman of the Commons Defence Committee, Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood, also weighed in, insisting the leak is “worrying on a number of levels”.
Asked by the BBC what the most troubling aspect was, he said: “There’s many aspects of this, at the recent Munich Security Conference attended by the Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and indeed President Zelensky who was begging for weapon systems, the very public frustration about Germany not matching Britain in sending long range air launch missiles was second only to the frustration in delays over the Americans not sending their 60 billion package of support that’s got caught up in Congress.
“So this interception and the leak of military planning discussion is worrying on a number of decibel levels.”
He added one aspect is “why wasn’t basic concept protocols followed” and another is “how this plays out in Germany”.
Meanwhile, Lord Dannatt, former head of the British army, told Times Radio the German air force officers should be “censured pretty heavily”.
He said: “I was very disappointed to read that story. I think the German air force officers who were talking on an open line, frankly, they should be censured pretty heavily. They are suggesting that there are British people in Ukraine. It’s not for you or me to comment on that.
“We have provided a lot of equipment to them. We provided a lot of training. As far as I’m concerned. I think what they were talking about was whether they would or wouldn’t supply a German system akin to our Storm Shadow.
“I suspect that we do our training on Storm Shadow, either in this country or in Poland or elsewhere. It’s not for you or I to confirm or deny whether there are British military in Ukraine.”
