Overview

• Eliza Manningham-Buller told the Lord Speaker’s Corner podcast that those who argue the UK is already at war with Russia "may be right," pointing to sabotage, intelligence activity, physical attacks and extensive cyberattacks.
• She endorsed Fiona Hill’s earlier assessment and described a different kind of conflict conducted through covert and cyber means, adding weight to a security debate rather than signaling any formal change in status.
• Recent UK cases cited as evidence include six Bulgarians jailed for a spy ring and five men convicted over an arson attack on a warehouse holding supplies bound for Ukraine that was ordered by Moscow.
• Recalling a 2005 meeting with Vladimir Putin, she said hopes of partnership proved mistaken, noting the 2006 polonium murder of Alexander Litvinenko that a public inquiry later tied to Russian agents probably acting on Putin’s orders.
• She warned that cuts to foreign aid erode Western soft power and risk leaving space for China to expand influence in poorer countries.