Why we're exploring Scotland's Defence Future

This week’s series on defence has been a privilege to work on. At times, it has also been terrifying.

With Scotland’s Defence Future, we began by asking why the UK Government was pledging to spend 5% of GDP on security by 2035, and then explored what that might mean for Scotland’s world-leading aerospace, defence, shipbuilding, security and space sectors.

There have been disagreements over the money — how much it really is and how it is being spent.

But nobody I have spoken to has questioned the timing of the series. Nobody has asked why we are doing this now.

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“It is no exaggeration to say we are already in a ‘grey war’ with Russia,” Labour MP Graeme Downie told me.

Moscow, he argues, is using a blend of military, cyber and covert tactics to destabilise Europe.

We know Vladimir Putin has launched drone attacks on Poland, and violated Estonian airspace with MiG-31 jets.

However, the MP believes Russia is behind the cyberattacks on European airports, including those that caused huge grief for travellers last weekend.

We also know for a fact that many hacking gangs are headquartered in Russia or other former Soviet countries, and some have links to the Kremlin.

Russian interference has also been blamed for the “GPS jamming” of the navigation system of a plane carrying Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission President.

Some of the attacks attributed to Moscow are little bit more old fashioned.

In July, three men were found guilty of an arson attack on a London warehouse linked to Ukraine on behalf of Russian mercenary group Wagner.

Meanwhile, Russian spy ships continue to lurk off the UK’s east coast and near Ireland, mapping undersea cables and energy infrastructure.

Russian bombers frequently probe NATO and UK airspace north of Shetland.

As Downie told me, these incidents rarely make front-page news, but they represent a “steady drumbeat of aggression.”

“At some point NATO will have to go beyond simply escorting or intercepting these incursions,” he added. “A firmer line with clear ultimatums and credible consequences may be necessary to prevent miscalculation.”

Downie firmly believes that politicians, like him, and journalists, like me, have a duty to explain the reality of the threat to the public.

For anyone under 40, the Cold War is a distant memory, but it really is not that long ago.

He grew up in Berlin, and could hear Russian helicopters and artillery training just miles away.

“That proximity leaves an impression but a new generation must be made aware of the very real threat we face,” he added.

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I love being a political hack. It is the best job in journalism. But jings, it's relentless.

Last week, just when I thought I was on top of things, the Minister for Parliamentary Business ended up going all unparliamentary on Douglas Ross.

And now Jamie Hepburn will go down as the only minister in the history of devolution to be brought down by a stooshie over seagulls.

It is one of those spats that I would argue is far more serious than you might think — the rise of the seagull menace is as much about bureaucracy in Scotland’s crowded public body landscape, climate change, and shifting demographics as it is about birds.

A minister seemingly admitting assault mens rea against a political opponent is actually something serious.

But sometimes that relentlessness, no matter how serious, gets in the way of spending time working on complex, difficult stories.

It is why, as a journalist, I cherish the opportunity to work on what we call our impact series.

We get time to spend time immersing ourselves in subject, get to know and work with experts in their fields.

We are very lucky at The Herald to be able to do this. No other Scottish paper does anything quite like it.

It is only possible because of our readers and our subscribers.

If you have valued this series — not just the writing, but the work of our photographers, graphic designers, subs, production staff, and the people whose names you never see but whose management and direction has made this possible — but do not currently subscribe, then I urge you to do so.

The world is an uncertain place right now. There has never been a more important time and need for quality journalism.