How Putin is inflaming immigration tensions to spark disorder in Britain

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Russia is inflaming the debate on immigration in Britain as part of “increasing ambitions to disrupt our way of life”, counter-terror police leaders and experts have warned.

Using a combination of intelligence agencies, paid agents and covert influence tactics on social media, the Kremlin is said to be intensifying efforts to spark division and deepen distrust in the UK government and institutions.

Laurence Taylor, the head of UK Counter Terrorism Policing, warned that the interference was being felt at a time when the threat from extreme right-wing terrorism driven by “anti-immigration sentiment” was rising.

Shorts Scroll to previous short Scroll to next short How a new technology is helping lung cancer treatment Inside the UK’s new chicken megafarm capital Everything we know about Ann Widdecombe murder investigation Bangkok nightclub fire kills 27 – what we know so far 1 2 3 health How a new technology is helping lung cancer treatment Caption: Lung cancer, illustration

Researchers from the University of Edinburgh and NHS Lothian have developed a new method for accurately predicting genetic changes that cause lung cancer, without the need for slower, more expensive lab techniques. 1 2 3 How does it work? Detecting DNA mutations which help inform lung cancer treatment currently requires lab tests such as gene sequencing.

The new approach uses fluorescent imaging to predict those mutations without the need for genetic testing or tissue staining.

This captures natural light signals from tissue samples, which AI analyses for patterns. MONEY I have terminal lung cancer. I’m more upset by inheritance tax than my diagnosis 5 min read 1 2 3 Why this is important Caption: DNA molecule, illustration.

More accurate The method identified the presence of mutations with very high accuracy to help make treatment decisions. Deadly disease Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide. Caption: Abstract plexus lung on a black background.

A new highly accurate AI test could help diagnose sarcoma cancers earlier and save thousands of lives Quicker and cheaper Co-lead Dr Qiang Wang said previously lengthy and costly processes could be completed in “minutes”. 1 2 3 4 NEWS The poultry industry’s major expansion of factory chicken farms The digesters are being used to justify the expansion of intensive poultry farms (Photo: Mint Images RF/Getty) The poultry industry is planning a major expansion of factory farms across England, creating new hotspots for air and river pollution. Here is everything you need to know. 1 2 3 4 What you need to know 600 The number of new chicken sheds planned for the UK. Revealed by a joint investigation by The i Paper and investigative journalism outlet Grilled. Many of the new poultry farms will still be large “megafarms” with the capacity to hold over 200,000 chickens.

It comes in response to a 4.5 per cent increase in demand for chicken, according to industry experts, and the Government’s new welfare standards. 1 2 3 4 Why it matters Intensive chicken farming has been associated with toxic air and river pollution, most notably around the River Wye catchment area. Many of the new applications are centered around Lincolnshire. There are currently 13 active known applications in the county for “intensive poultry units”, which hold at least 40,000 birds.

Residents said they were concerned about the health impacts of living next to these intensive units and environmental campaigners said chicken farming was “suffocating” local rivers.

Research earlier this year by Compassion in World Farming recorded spikes in ammonia pollution surrounding regions associated with intensive farming, including Lincolnshire, Herefordshire and Norfolk. 1 2 3 4 What the residents are saying Everything about our life and work is put in jeopardy by this proposal, as any pollutants from the units would be carried on the prevailing winds directly to our property. We fear for our health, our wellbeing and the likely impact on delicate ecosystems LINCOLNSHIRE RESIDENT IVOR DAVEY 1 2 3 4 Everything we know about Ann Widdecombe murder investigation Former Conservative MP and Reform UK’s senior member

dead in her home on Thursday after sustaining serious injuries. Police have launched a murder investigation after Ann Widdecombe was found dead at her home (Photo Ben Stansall/ AFP via Getty Images) Read more 1 2 3 4 What’s new? On Saturday evening, a 28-year-old white British man was arrested on suspicion of murder.

He was arrested at his home in Rotherham, 267 miles from Widdecombe’s Dartmoor home.

CCTV published by The Sun shows the suspect getting into his car with a large stick in his pocket hours before she was allegedly killed.

Counter-terrorism police are now leading the investigation. NEWS 'Nothing to suggest' Ann Widdecombe killing was politically motivated, police say 5 min read 1 2 3 4 What the police said We now have new information and evidence that means Counter Terrorism Policing is now leading the investigation. We are pursuing multiple lines of enquiry to establish the motivation for this attack. head of UK counter-terrorism policing, Laurence Taylor Ann Widdecombe outside Old Baily in 2022 reading out a statement in relation to the murder trial of the late British lawmaker David Amess (Photo: John Sibley/Reuters) 1 2 3 4 Farage warned not to speculate Nigel Farage faced criticism after paying tribute to Widdecombe on Saturday.

The Reform leader told reporters he believed the attack was “premeditated murder”, adding a car had appeared on her drive around 12.25pm on Wednesday. Police again urged people not to speculate, saying it is “unhelpful” and “distressing”. Nigel Farage laid a tribute on Saturday near the home Ann Widdecombe after she was found dead on Thursday (Photo: Jack Taylor/Reuters)

OPINION I saw Ann Widdecombe recently. As always she was forthright, fun and kind 4 min read 1 2 3 WORLD Bangkok nightclub fire kills 27 – how it unfolded Caption: A person runs as flames rise at a pub in Bangkok, Thailand, in this screengrab taken from a social media video released on July 13, 2026. txng.di.kwa.deim.hi.di via Facebook/via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. Verification: – Business signage, road layout, bridge and steel poles matched archive image and Reuters aftermath coverage – Time of footage recorded was not confirmed, however, Thai officials confirmed that the fire broke out at 11:57 p.m. (1657 GMT) on Sunday (July 12) – Corroborating footage posted online on Monday (July 13) also showed similar intensity flames bursting out from the location REFILE – CORRECTING DATE FROM “JULY 13” TO “RELEASED ON JULY 13”.

A huge fire tore through a bar in Bangkok late on Sunday, killing at least 27 people and leaving 22 critically injured.

Reports of the fire at the Na Ladprao bar emerged around 2am local time. Here is everything we know so far. 1 2 3 What you need to know Video shows customers running from a huge plume of flames coming out of the door of the nightclub.

Eyewitnesses said the blaze broke out near the stage of the popular bar, then spread rapidly.

The majority of the bodies were found in a bathroom, where customers had apparently retreated from the flames.

No official cause of the fire has yet been identified. Agony Uncle I want to retire in Thailand – but my wife wants to stay here for the grandchildren 3 min read 1 2 3 What have officials said? Thailand’s national police chief Kittiratt Phanphet told reporters “negligence” is the primary theory behind the outbreak of the fire.

Bangkok’s governor alleged the fire exits were obstructed, but this has not been confirmed by investigators. Caption: BANGKOK, THAILAND ??” JULY 13: A view of the damage at a pub following a deadly fire in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district, Thailand, on July 13, 2026. At least 27 people were killed and 63 others injured, including 22 in critical condition, after a fire rapidly engulfed the crowded nightlife venue shortly before midnight. Authorities said most victims died from smoke inhalation, while the cause of the blaze remains under investigation. (Photo by Wissarut Weerasopon/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Caption: An ambulance is parked outside a bar after a massive fire broke out in Bangkok, early on July 13, 2026. A fire in a bar in the Thai capital Bangkok killed at least 27 people late Sunday night, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told local media. (Photo by chanakarn LAOSARAKHAM / AFP via Getty Images)

“It’s our belief that polarised views in society are having a direct impact on that increased threat,” he told a press conference last week. “We are seeing what we would describe as wedge tactics from foreign states who will be looking at opportunities to create division in our communities.”

Vicki Evans, the Senior National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing, said the activity was part of the Kremlin’s “increasing ambitions to disrupt our way of life”.

“They’re intent on identifying willing volunteers to peddle the Russian narrative,” she added. “Their ultimate goal is destabilising our democracy, sowing division and chaos, and disturbing our peace.”

Evans cited the case of Nathan Gill, the former Ukip MEP and ex-leader of Reform in Wales who was jailed in November for taking bribes to make pro-Russian media appearances and speeches in the European Parliament. A police investigation into unidentified individuals related to Gill’s case is ongoing.

Nathan Gill, the former leader of Reform UK in Wales, was jailed in November for taking payments to make pro-Russian statements in the European Parliament (Photo: James Manning/PA Wire)

As well as politicians, security officials say Russia has directly and indirectly paid right-wing influencers on social media to spread messages on migration and other issues that align with the Kremlin’s political goals.

In 2024, the US Department of Justice charged two employees from Russian state broadcaster RT with what it called “a $10 million scheme to create and distribute content to US audiences with hidden Russian government messaging”.

A Canada-based company was allegedly paid to employ several high-profile right-wing online influencers to make videos on immigration and other topics that garnered millions of views on TikTok, Instagram, X, and YouTube.

The influencers involved, some of whom were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars a month, said they were unaware of the plot and had been deceived by the intermediary company.

The indictment in the case said the scheme started following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when sanctions forced RT to stop formal operations in the US, UK and EU and caused it to create an “empire of covert projects” designed to shape public opinion among Western audiences.

The UK has separately sanctioned three PR agencies which it said were “responsible for a vast malign online network” spreading fake posts, counterfeit documents and deepfake material in English, German and French through counterfeit news and government websites.

Andy Pryce, the former head of countering disinformation at the Foreign Office, said social media had increased Russia’s ability to influence public debate and reach specific audiences, both through the use of bots or fake accounts, and paid assets.

“There will be a mixture of individuals they pay, unwitting multipliers and people who just believe what they’re saying,” he told The i Paper. “They use a variety of different means, and they’ve got better at it.”

Pryce, who is now an expert at the Centre for Information Resilience, said that as well as directly seeding narratives that suit its aims, Russia “amplifies folks in the UK who pursue anti-immigrant policies” and seizes upon high-profile events like the murder of Henry Nowak and Belfast stabbing to “shape perceptions”.

“Some of that activity will be directly ordered from the presidential administration in the Kremlin,” he added. “Some of it is by people who know roughly what is being looked for, and then will go seeking reward, recognition and advancement.”

One suspected example is the person behind a series of arson attacks that struck Keir Starmer’s former homes and car last year, who was identified by the BBC as Evgeny Lyukshin. A 23-year-old Russian diplomat who studied information warfare at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, but was not thought to be under direct Kremlin instruction.

Before setting fire to Keir Starmer’s former properties, Roman Lavrynovych was paid to put up leaflets for a fake far-right group targeting migrants and Muslims in the UK (Photo: Metropolitan Police)

The same anonymous Telegram account used to commission the fires previously paid the arsonist to put up leaflets in London advertising a fake far-right group called “Direct Action UK”.

While posting a steady stream of hate speech against Muslims and calling for the “remigration” of non-whites from Britain on its social media accounts, the group was offering £100 in cryptocurrency for an anti-Muslim graffiti “competition”.

Dr Lukasz Olejnik, a visiting senior research fellow at the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, said that Russian disinformation efforts were not necessarily about “making Britons pro-Russian, but more about influencing in a way that makes the UK feel dysfunctional, hypocritical, exhausted, divided”.

He added: “For Russia, it suffices to identify divisive issues to pour gasoline on, intensify them, and benefit from the resulting chaos.”