Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said there was no doubt that Russia has “the intent and the ability” to target underwater energy and communication lines as he launched a security partnership with Norway. At a press conference alongside his Norwegian counterpart, Mr Wallace said: “What we know is the Russians have a work programme, they have a specific naval programme designed to both look at and potentially sabotage or attack critical national infrastructure belonging to its adversaries. “It has a number of submarines and other pieces of equipment and spy ships and everything else specifically designed for that purpose. “So whether we are talking about Nord Stream, whether we are talking about our own infrastructure, that is an area that is vulnerable and needs to be protected.” He added: “What we can say without doubt is Russia has the intent and the capability to target the West’s critical national infrastructure. We have to have the intent and the capability to defend it.”