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Richard Holmes

@richardholmes.bsky.social
3K followers 597 following 169 posts

Multi-award winning Forensic Investigations Editor at The Telegraph richard.holmes@telegraph.co.uk

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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
@spectrecrouton.bsky.social hey, can we chat?
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
NEW: At least 160 planes flying near Russia’s borders experienced “spoofing” of onboard GPS systems on the same day the Defence Secretary’s flight was disrupted. inews.co.uk/news/160-pla...
inews.co.uk
160 planes lost their GPS in a single day after Russia jammed flights in Europe
Commercial flights into and out of UK airports in London and Manchester had GPS signals interrupted on the same day an RAF jet carrying the Defence Secretary was jammed
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Thanks mate
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
NEW: I am joining the @telegraph.co.uk I am excited for a new challenge as the paper’s Forensic Investigations Editor, working on deeply researched, agenda-setting exclusives. I start next month, and can’t wait to get cracking - DMs open for tips/coffees.
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Mark Douglas @maritimekiwi.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
From @theipaper.com and @richardholmes.bsky.social with help from @starboardintelligence.com The deployment of Russian warships to UK waters is a new normal. The article notes the strain this must be putting on the Russian Navy, but it’s keeping the RN busy as well. inews.co.uk/news/russian...
inews.co.uk
Russian frigate spotted in UK waters as Putin brazenly steps up his 'grey war'
The vessel passed through British waters just days after a Russian warship sailed 30 miles off Britain's coast
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
Anyone know a fisherman willing to take a journo out on a boat tomorrow?
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
My guess is bad weather
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 14/04/2026
cough cough bsky.app/profile/did:...
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
h/t @starboardintelligence.com
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 13/04/2026
🚨BREAK: A Russian naval vessel is currently "waiting” in the Channel, near to UK offshore windfarms. A Kremlin Amur Class Repair Ship PM-82, was spotted loitering at the Eastern entrance of the English Channel, around 50km off the coast of Colchester. inews.co.uk/news/russian...
inews.co.uk
Russian naval vessel seen 'waiting' in English Channel, Nato source confirms
A Russian naval vessel has been observed in British waters days after three Russian submarines were deterred from an alleged 'covert operation'
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
Undeterred by its audience of Royal Navy ships and helicopters, four Russian Navy vessels mapped UK undersea cabling in the North Sea and shipped military supplies through the English Channel. The UK shadowed and monitored, but they didn’t intervene. inews.co.uk/news/embolde...
inews.co.uk
Emboldened Putin is humiliating the UK on its doorstep - and Trump's oil waiver is to blame
The UK may soon be forced to make a choice about how far it is willing to go in defending its waters
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
Just for clarity. A sanctioned vessel receiving a Kremlin military escort through the Channel is not a win for the UK. It’s happened at least six times over the past 12 months and is normal for shipments going directly to Russian military assets. Don’t believe the spin.
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
NEW: Oil, supplies and spare parts for Russia's armed forces are believed to have been taken through the Channel on sanctioned Russian tankers, escorted by a Kremlin warship Its at least the sixth such shipments through the Channel in the past twelve months. inews.co.uk/news/secret-...
inews.co.uk
The secret cargo Putin's warship was trying to protect in Channel dash
Despite the UK threatening to seize shadow fleet vessels, which help fund Moscow's war with Ukraine, the Universal sailed past the English coast
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Mark Douglas @maritimekiwi.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
There has undoubtedly been a lull in shadow fleet (and ex-shadow fleet, now Russian) tankers entering the Baltic. But that’s going to end soon and I think INA #IMO9308443is is going to be the first big test of resolve following the recent announcement by the Coastal States of the North Sea.
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 11/01/2026
Officials staying at a hotel near NATO's central support hub for Ukraine in Wiesbaden, Germany reported suspicious individuals surveilling the hotel, leading to a guidance that the site is a likely target for Kremlin spying.
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 11/01/2026
🚨NEW: A Russian spy alert has been issued to British NATO staff working at a key military site for the alliance's support for Ukraine. Russian spies are becoming increasingly active around military bases, key ports and other hotels used by the alliance across Europe. inews.co.uk/news/nato-wa...
inews.co.uk
Russian spies target £70-a-night hotel near Nato HQ
British staff working for Nato have been warned of increased attempts by suspected Russian spies to monitor the alliance's support for Ukraine in strategic locations
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Mark Douglas @maritimekiwi.bsky.social · 06/01/2026
From @richardholmes.bsky.social “The British government fear a US operation to seize a Russian-flagged oil tanker 200 miles off British waters could spark retaliation from Vladimir Putin… It is due to pass into European waters within hours, according to data provided by @starboardintelligence.com ”
inews.co.uk
Putin's runaway tanker is 200 miles off UK waters. And US forces are massing in Britain
UK and European officials fear a US attempt to seize the vessel could provoke retaliation from Moscow
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 05/12/2025
Reports of four "military-style" drones following Volodymyr Zelensky’s plane before it landed at Dublin airport are incredibly concerning, but not surprising. Before we give credit to the aggressor we're all thinking about, lets wait for details. Details I will certainly be hunting for.
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
The call came in at the same time as an individual, linked to Russian intelligence, travelled to the UK on a cargo ship. They visited areas around Lulworth Firing Range. It is unknown if the suspected spy is the same man that locals reported to the police.
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
One local believed the man was monitoring Lulworth Firing Range, and contacted the local counter-terror policing unit. “He was up to something suspicious,” the local claimed, adding that the police “took all the facts and were professional about it. They followed up and went to the shepherd’s hut.”
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
The mysterious traveller was reported to have an Eastern European accent, ate boil-in-the-bag ration packs. Locals witness him flying a drone during the late hours and fixing a small metal device “resembled a transmitter” to a tree.
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
🚨SPIES, DAY TWO: Counter-Terror Police were reported to a suspicious man spying on Lulworth Firing Range - flying drones and fixing metal devices in trees. The call was made during the same time that a suspected Russian spy was near to the military base. inews.co.uk/news/suspect...
inews.co.uk
Suspected spy staying in Dorset shepherd's hut reported to counter-terror police
Man witnessed flying drone near Dorset military base where Ukraine's troops are trained
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
The story features on the front page of today’s @theipaper.com
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
Maritime data shows both cargo ships used sourced their crew through firms known for hiring Russian seafarers. One of the ship’s owners recruits crew members through a management office in Kherson, and was staffed by five Russian officers when it entered the UK.
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
A high-ranking NATO official, who was briefed on the information, said they had been tracking similar movements by Russian spies on commercial vessels. The official said Russian nationals “dominate” the industry, making it an “ideal” cover for Moscow’s spies.
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
A second individual who was also observed at highly secretive Russian unit developing radar and satellite technologies travelled The Port of Middlesbrough and Grangemouth, where major fuel refineries are based.
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
One suspected spy who had been observed inside several highly secure military bases across Russia, travelled to the perimeter of Lulworth Firing range – where British forces have been preparing Ukrainian soldiers for combat against Russia.
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 03/12/2025
🚨EXCLUSIVE: Two suspected Russian spies slipped into the UK this year aboard commercial cargo ships, before moving near military bases & critical infrastructure. An @theipaper.com investigation reveals how The Kremlin is using European shipping lanes as covert infiltration routes.
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
Whatever peace looks like in Ukraine, Europe's fight with Russia will drum on. Senior military, diplomatic and intelligence figures say that a peace deal, any peace deal, will only intensify the continent’s confrontation with Vladimir Putin. inews.co.uk/news/whateve...
inews.co.uk
Whatever peace looks like in Ukraine, Europe will still have to fight with Putin
Confrontations with Russia will not let up if Donald Trump’s proposed deal is signed - instead they may 'ramp up', senior officials say
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 22/11/2025
Labour MP Sarah Champion said: “Very clear arguments have been made why the embassy would be a security and psychological threat to the UK. I’m not reassured they have been fully considered.”
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 22/11/2025
Throughout the late 1990s and 2000s the site hosted major institutions, including Barclays, Deloitte, and BlackRock. An assessment by UK intelligence agencies warned that the site’s proximity to cabling feeding the City’s financial hub was a national security risk.
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 22/11/2025
Former Home Secretary Priti Patel said the claims were “extremely concerning” as she accused the Government of “showing total contempt for our national security”. “Approving a spy hub in return for a cheap refurb would be simply ludicrous,” she said.
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 22/11/2025
The offer was only on condition of the UK approving China’s plans at Royal Mint Court, near the Tower of London. It came after the Chinese had been cutting off electricity, and turning off the heating at Britain’s own diplomatic post in Beijing.
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 22/11/2025
NEW: The UK signed off China’s new London embassy after Chinese officials offered a ‘cut-price’ rebuild of Britain’s crumbling embassy in Beijing. The Foreign Office “pressured” No 10 into the decision despite security risks, according to sources. inews.co.uk/news/astonis...
inews.co.uk
The astonishing claim about why Chinese Embassy 'spy base' is being approved
A decision on the Chinese super embassy is expected next month, which would give Beijing one of the largest diplomatic bases in the world
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Eliot Higgins @eliothiggins.bsky.social · 20/11/2025
I've seen claims that Darren Grimes used a faked photograph in this blogpost, so I've decided to take a closer look, see if an elected official would be low enough to use a fake image to promote anti-immigrant sentiment (the answer will shock you!) www.darrengrimes.com/p/exclusive-...
darrengrimes.com
EXCLUSIVE: DURHAM FILES PROVE LABOUR USES COUNTY AS MIGRANT DUMPING GROUND WHILE HIDING TRUTH IN PARLIAMENT
The “fair share” is a fantasy. Wealthy Southern councils sit in their leafy enclaves while County Durham is packed. Now whistleblower files reveal the truth Labour wanted buried!
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
BREAKING: Two people accused of targeting MPs on LinkedIn for Chinese intelligence connected with senior officials at the Home Office and Foreign Office, high-ranking NATO staff, and individuals at the UK’s embassy in Beijing. inews.co.uk/news/chinas-...
inews.co.uk
China's 'LinkedIn' spies targeted senior Home Office, NATO and Foreign Office officials
MI5 issued an espionage alert warning that Chinese intelligence services were trying to 'interfere' and 'influence' Parliament
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
Qiu and Shen used the professional social networking site to obtain “non-public and insider insights”, MI5 said, also targeting economists, think tank staff and civil servants due to their access to politicians.
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
In one approach from Shen to an official at the Dutch Ministry of Justice, the fake Chinese recruiter claimed to be offering a consultant role with a “global famous research center” and wanted to chat further about the opportunity.
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
Other connections to the pair include leading voices from UK think tanks as well as key policy makers among UK government departments on China, leading to serious concern among intelligence officials.
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
BREAKING: Two people accused of targeting MPs on LinkedIn for Chinese intelligence connected with senior officials at the Home Office and Foreign Office, high-ranking NATO staff, and individuals at the UK’s embassy in Beijing. inews.co.uk/news/chinas-...
inews.co.uk
China's 'LinkedIn' spies targeted senior Home Office, NATO and Foreign Office officials
MI5 issued an espionage alert warning that Chinese intelligence services were trying to 'interfere' and 'influence' Parliament
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 18/11/2025
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has circulated guidance from MI5 warning MPs they face a significant risk of espionage from the Chinese state. Sir Lindsay said Chinese state actors were "relentless" in trying to "interfere" and "influence" Parliament - not an enemy though.
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 14/11/2025
Today, the UK announced new cyber laws to strengthen defences for essential public services like healthcare, transport and energy. The annual bill from hacks is almost £15 billion. The new laws hope to lower that figure. But will they make any difference?
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
NEW: Russia is believed to be behind recent drone incursions into Belgium from Kremlin-linked cargo ships in the North Sea. Drones overflying military bases have become a regular feature of Putin’s aggression in the West - the shadow fleet is helping. inews.co.uk/news/inside-...
inews.co.uk
Inside Putin's new drone war against Europe launched just 50 miles from UK coast
Recent drone incursions into Belgium are thought to have been launched from Russian-linked cargo ships in the North Sea, according to UK intelligence and Nato officials
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
NEW: Russia is believed to be behind recent drone incursions into Belgium from Kremlin-linked cargo ships in the North Sea. Drones overflying military bases have become a regular feature of Putin’s aggression in the West - the shadow fleet is helping. inews.co.uk/news/inside-...
inews.co.uk
Inside Putin's new drone war against Europe launched just 50 miles from UK coast
Recent drone incursions into Belgium are thought to have been launched from Russian-linked cargo ships in the North Sea, according to UK intelligence and Nato officials
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Sanya Burgess @sanyaburgess.bsky.social · 03/11/2025
Many months in the reporting - my investigation into Amazon warehouses is finally live today. A huge thank you to the workers and others who spoke to me, on and off the record. inews.co.uk/news/human-c...
inews.co.uk
Broken bones, heart attacks and chemical burns - the human cost of Amazon orders
2,500 serious injury incidents have been recorded in UK Amazon warehouses in the last ten years - roughly one injury every day and a half
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 26/10/2025
NEW: Western intelligence agencies suspect hostile states are providing equipment and infrastructure to fuel illicit smuggling networks. Inside Russia's tactics to 'flood' Europe with migrants as a weapon of war: inews.co.uk/news/inside-...
inews.co.uk
Inside Russia's tactics to 'flood' Europe with migrants as a weapon of war
Intelligence agencies suspect hostile states are providing equipment and infrastructure to fuel illicit smuggling networks - while disinformation campaigns direct migration flows
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 17/10/2025
LATEST: Making details of the China spying case public has effectively “killed” some active operations. “We’ve done our job and caught them red-handed, and it’s just been thrown under the bus,” a UK intelligence source said. inews.co.uk/news/politic...
inews.co.uk
China spy scandal 'kills' UK intelligence operations in Beijing
MPs pile pressure on the Director of Public Prosecutions over the spy trial collapse
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
The committee found that the UK has “extremely large expenditure commitments” on defence, “without clear plans for how government will pay for them” in findings from its annual report.
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
BREAK: The Government is currently £9bn short of their own defence spending target without a “clear plan” for how to reach it, the Public Accounts Committee has warned.
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Richard Holmes @richardholmes.bsky.social · 14/10/2025
EXCLUSIVE: The Government is set to face a parliamentary inquiry over its handling of the trial of two British men accused of spying for China. The Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs Select Committees are due to meet to discuss how best to probe the case. inews.co.uk/news/governm...
inews.co.uk
Government faces inquiry over two alleged Chinese spies in Westminster
Since the collapse of the trial of two British men accused of spying for China there have been calls for an inquiry into the Government’s handling of the case
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