Leyton and Wanstead MP Calvin Bailey says hostile state actors like Russia are fermenting social divides in our community

Leyton and Wanstead MP Calvin Bailey (credit parliament.uk)

The vandalism of mosques and religious centres in Waltham Forest earlier this year has left our community shocked and saddened. Places of worship, including Leyton Jamia Masjid, were defaced with hateful graffiti. As the MP for Leyton and Wanstead, I have made it my business to visit following the attacks and during Ramadan to express solidarity and reaffirm our collective commitment to standing against hate.

While our community remains united, as we showed during last summer’s racist riots, these incidents highlight the need for greater awareness and vigilance. The Metropolitan Police are investigating links between these acts of vandalism in London and a Russia-linked Telegram channel that is offering cryptocurrency payments to encourage violent attacks on our Muslim communities. This disturbing development shows that these hate crimes may be part of a broader strategy aimed at causing division and distrust in our society.

This kind of attack on our social fabric fits within what experts call “hybrid warfare,” where hostile states like Russia and Iran use underhanded tactics to destabilise democracies like the UK. These tactics include sabotage, cyberattacks, and spreading disinformation. Similar methods have been seen across Europe, such as Russian antisemitic graffiti campaigns in Paris last year which represent a similar attempt to spark religious and political division. We have also seen arson attacks in Lithuania and Poland, where perpetrators were offered rewards for targeting stores in their capitals in an attempt to create anti-Ukrainian feeling.

The House of Commons’ Defence Select Committee, of which I am a member, is currently examining the growing threat of hybrid warfare. Russian activities like these are carefully designed to stay below the threshold of open conflict whilst attempting to undermine democratic societies and make Russia’s aggression appear more defensible.

This tactic is not new; it has a long history. For instance, in the 1960s, the KGB orchestrated Operation Zarathustra, a campaign designed to alienate West Germany from its allies by portraying it as a hub of Nazi antisemitism. The operation involved acts of antisemitic graffiti and synagogue vandalism, emboldening far-right elements within West Germany and sparking international outrage against the country.

As your local MP, I believe it is crucial to raise awareness about these threats. Hate has no place in our community or country, but we must recognise that we too are vulnerable to manipulation and exploitation of our political and social divides by hostile states. This vulnerability is part of the reason I am supportive of the government’s plans to raise spending on defence. This includes the vital work of our security services against disinformation, cyberattacks and sabotage, just as much as the aircraft and soldiers needed to keep us and our allies safe from conventional attacks

While far-right elements clearly exist within the UK, we must also understand how these groups – even their arguments and images – are being amplified and supported by malign actors, including Russia, to undermine our society and our prized social cohesion. By amplifying divisions and stoking fear, these hostile states aim to destabilise communities and weaken the bonds of trust that hold us together. It is vital that we confront extremism at home while remaining vigilant against those who seek to manipulate it for their own gain. Together, we can stand firm for a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, and democratic country.

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