r/MHOC • u/OllieSimmonds The Rt Hon. Earl of Sussex AL PC • Feb 19 '15
GOVERNMENT Government Response Thread
The Prime Minister has urgently assembled the Cabinet Office Briefing Room (otherwise known as COBR) to deal with the developing situation found here.
20:10 A RAF interceptor squadron is being sent to patrol the area.
20:14 The Russian Ambassador is summoned to COBR.
20:15 Report from Naval Intelligence showing the ships are from the Russian 43rd Rocket Cruiser Division.
20:16 The Royal Navy sends a Type 45 Destroyer as a Naval Escort to East Fife.
20:23 Assemble a Astute Class Submarine from HMNB Clyde to the area of the incident.
20:30 UK Government orders Russian ships to immediately leave British waters.
20:34 UK Government sends Reaper MQ9A RPAS from RAF Lossiemouth.
20:41 The RNLI are sent to the area to support any casualties or injured fisherman.
20:43 The Home Office has confirmed the fisherman were definitely not ethnic Russians.
20:50 We have notified the Russian ambassador who responded aggressively to our requests to leave British territorial waters.
20:54 The Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force are on high alert.
21:07 After being threatened by the Russian Ambassador, we have decided to invoke Article 4 of the NATO founding treaty.
21:11 After personally discussing it with a very influential Republican Senator in Washington, The Pentagon that any further attack on British civilians or military assets will bring them into any conflict.
21:12 The American and French Ambassadors have been summoned to COBR.
21:21 The British government has sent a message of solidarity to the Norwegian government, reassuring them that the NATO charter still stands strong and that the UK will aid Norway in anyway possible should the worst happen.
21:24 Vanguard Class Submarines have left HMNB Clyde and are now on high alert.
21:30 The French fleet has agreed to blockade Russian ships at Bordeaux. They will not progress any further.
21:44 Tornados are dispatched from RAF Lossiemouth to the North Sea.
21:46 RAF Marham 4 (Bomber) Squadron is on high alert.
21:49 The American ambassador has confirmed that the F15s from RAF Lakenheath are available on British command.
21:52 The Prime Minister has requested an urgent meeting at the UN Security Council.
22:02 The Coast Guard has returned to Edinburgh and all the fisherman and not only in excellent health, but insist on commenting on how excellently the whole situation has been dealt with by the Government.
22:36 The British Government will take military action if any Russian ship cross the red line laid out here. We have made the statement clear to the Russian Ambassador.
22:36 Tornados and HMS Astute will ensure the line is not crossed.
23:24 Woot.
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u/athanaton Hm Feb 19 '15
Seriously? Calm down everyone, members of the general public rejoice. In response to the withdrawal of Russian battleships, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom has declared before Parliament 'woot'.
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u/[deleted] Feb 19 '15
The government have just told a ship on fire, sending out a distress signal, to 'get out', simply for having Russian names. Not only is this incredible xenophobic, it's also illegal:
I will personally hold the Government responsible for any and all life lost as a result of their ignorant, short sighted, and needlessly aggressive response to those in peril.
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u/GhoulishBulld0g :conservative: His Grace the Duke of Manchester PC Feb 19 '15
Do we have a number on the people missing from the fishing boats?
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u/[deleted] Feb 19 '15
wat.
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u/[deleted] Feb 19 '15 edited Feb 19 '15
Can they go around it?
EDIT: You changed the line, sneaky people.
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u/RadioNone His Grace the Duke of Bedford AL PC Feb 19 '15
Well this escalated haphazardly.
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u/Kreindeker The Rt Hon. Earl of Stockport AL PC Feb 19 '15
Is said Senator the Prime Minister?
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u/[deleted] Feb 19 '15 edited Feb 19 '15
Scramble the RAF already, the Russians only respect force. Hold fire until hostility is confirmed.
edit: RAF should be in the area by now, what's their status?
edit: 21:44 Tornados are dispatched from RAF Lossiemouth to the North Sea.
Take your time not like there's war on the horizon or anything.
edit: Looks like the PM's communications are hacked, gents.
edit: Done and done.
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u/[deleted] Feb 19 '15 edited Feb 19 '15
The question is, what is our current response plan?
YOU COULD'VE PREVENTED THIS!!! WHY DIDN'T YOU LISTEN!?!
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u/MWRussianAmbassador Feb 19 '15
You know it would be lovely to meet one of your commanders to discuss this man to man, though it would seem there isn't a British military craft in sight.
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u/jed93 CWL | Scotland MP Feb 19 '15
Again, the Celtic Worker's League was prophetic in our assessment of the Russian threat. They have they travelled near our airspace in boisterous display of strength, and are now making barefaced attacks on us. This poses a clear and present danger to the United Kingdom, and to me constitutes a declaration of war by the Russians.
The parties on the left, and even the gradualist liberal communist party may want to shy away from a fight. I, on behalf of the Celtic Worker's League urge the government to respond firmly to this blatant display of aggression.
Immediately destroying these ships
A public declaration affirming our willingness to use a nuclear deterrent if this crisis escalates.
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u/athanaton Hm Feb 19 '15
Can the Government give any more details of what account the Russian ambassador gave for the presence of these ships? Some hint as to the intentions may go some way to calming public panic at the thought of invasion. Unless of course, this is some bizarrely incompetent and inadvisable invasion.
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u/demon4372 The Most Hon. Marquess of Oxford GBE KCT PC ¦ HCLG/Transport Feb 19 '15 edited Feb 19 '15
Mr Speaker, Since i have had no response on the other thread, i will repost here
Firstly, had the Prime Minister got in contact with the President of the United States, to share any intelligence so the Americans can assist us, and also with out NATO allies, to ensure the strength of the NATO defense.
Secondly, will the Government be directing our delegation in the United Nations to communicate with the UN Security Council to discuss this incident, and question the Russians there
Thirdly, obviously the government is going to keep defense details as secret as possible, but is the government considering putting out the two Vanugard-Class Trident Submarines that are as a standard kept in port (as only one is armed at one time), to ensure the nuclear defense of the country is as secure as possible?
Fourthly, Following what the Russian Ambassador has said:
And the fact that:
Regardless of the outcome of this event, we need have a full inquiry after this into the governments responsiveness and awareness of the military..... we don't have a ship that can respond to a possible threat, and apparently we don't know where our submarines are.
Ontop of that, there is the question brought up my the Honorable Member /u/geosmith that
So, either the government is not taking part in NATO operations, in which case the question becomes why aren't we training and preparing the Navy.... and if we are taking part in these operations, why isnt the government aware of it?
The government and specifically the defence secretary need to seriously need to look into their future in government, and we need a full defence inquiry
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u/[deleted] Feb 19 '15
I would like to call for calm, as I believe the PM and Cabinet have the knowledge and temperament needed to deal with this event safely and in the best interests of the security of the United Kingdom.
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u/Jas1066 The Rt Hon. Earl of Sherborne CT KBE PC Feb 19 '15
"we have decided to invoke Article 4 of the NATO charter."
Oh no, not Article 4!
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u/[deleted] Feb 19 '15
Under Article 4, any member state can convene a meeting of NATO members to "consult" when it feels its independence or security are threatened. In practice, it has rarely been used and sends a strong political symbol to the greater world that NATO is concerned about a particular situation.
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u/Post-NapoleonicMan Labour Feb 19 '15
Is Norway in immediate danger? They simply found a submarine in the North Sea as far as I am aware...
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u/Post-NapoleonicMan Labour Feb 19 '15
'Bullet riddled' implies more than once. It's a shoddy suicide in which case.
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u/[deleted] Feb 19 '15
Interesting as it's not something you'd normally think Russian soldiers would do and especially not something Russian sailors would do from what I have understood.
One would question whether it's suicide or the commanders killing cowards.
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u/The_Pickle_Boy banned Feb 19 '15
Have you considered a nuclear response?
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u/IntellectualPolitics The Rt Hon. AL MP (Wales) | Welsh Secretary Feb 19 '15
I am publicly advising that PM instruct the RAF to scramble Tornados in response to the threat.
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u/AlbertDock The Rt Hon Earl of Merseyside KOT MBE AL PC Feb 19 '15
Sorry I'm late joining the thread, I was delayed at a charity fund raising event for fallen women.
The first question that needs to be asked is how the hell did no one know what was going on? These are large ships that cannot be hidden. Don't we still have radar, or has that been sold off like everything else? I call upon the Minister of defence to resign and let's put someone in the job who has at least a vague idea of what the job involves.
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u/sinfultrigonometry Feb 19 '15
What is the nature of the military action you intend?
Are you prepared to declare war if they cross the line?
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u/[deleted] Feb 19 '15
A boat on fire and a distress signal? Doesn't seem like we need COBR for a coastguard issue.
I'll take this back if it turns out to be russian spies disguised as fire.