Spy Balloons Over UK Will Be Shot Down, Says Sunak

PM vows to do whatever it takes' to protect airspace

- Adam Forrest, Rachel Sharp 

Fighter jets will shoot down any Chinese spy balloons found flying over Britain, Rishi Sunak suggested yesterday, after the United States downed a fourth object in little more than a week. The government will do "whatever it takes" to protect the country, the prime minister said, amid growing concern over surveillance.

Defence secretary Ben Wallace has ordered a security review, and fellow Tory minister Richard Holden said it was "possible" that spy balloons have already been deployed across UK airspace.

Mr Sunak said: "I want people to know that we will do everything it takes to keep the country safe. We have something called the Quick Reaction Alert Force, which involves Typhoon planes which are kept on 24/7 readiness to police our air space." He added: "I can't go into detail on national security matters, but we're in constant touch with our allies and we'll do whatever it takes to keep our country safe."

US jets shot down an octagonal object flying over Lake Huron, between Michigan in the US and Ontario in Canada, on Sunday night. A suspected spy balloon was dealt with on Saturday 4 February, while a "high-altitude object" was shot down over Alaska on Friday. Canadian leader Justin Trudeau ordered the destruction of an unidentified object flying high over northern Canada at the weekend.