The naval dockyard had become a graveyard, a resting-place of Soviet submarines at the end of the Cold War. Many were left to rust. Some on the surface, others beneath the waves of the Barents Sea.
On a cliff rising above the bay, there were stony-faced murals of Marx and Lenin, faded by the weather and largely ignored by a new Russian political system that did not care to maintain them.
It was 2007 and I was in northern Russia reporting on the visit of a British government delegation. The UK was providing funds to make the submarines’ ageing nuclear reactors safe and had come to see how the cash was being spent.
Comedian and actor Russell Brand has arrived at Southwark Crown Court today with his wife for the start of his trial on rape and sexual assault charges.
What are the charges against him?
Brand, 51, is accused of groping women and forcing them into sexual acts in allegations spanning 10 years from 1999 to 2009.
He denies three charges of rape, three counts of sexual assault, and one allegation of indecent assault, made by six women.
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The story in pictures
What happens now
- The hearing began at 9.30am today.
- Jury selection is expected to begin for a trial, which could last up to 10 weeks.
- Brand pleaded not guilty to the charges during pre-trial hearings and is currently on bail.
- The case is being overseen by High Court judge Mr Justice Bennathan.
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Closer look at accusations
- Previous hearings have heard Brand accused of raping a woman in a hotel room at the Labour Party conference in Bournemouth.
- He has also been accused of grabbing a TV worker’s breasts and forcing her into a sex act in a toilet, and kissing and groping a radio station worker.
- Brand has denied all allegations and pleaded not guilty in a pre-trial hearing.
NHS rolls out new prescriptions alerts – what we know
The latest feature follows the launch of the “Amazon-style” prescription tracker on the NHS app, which officials said has been used by almost 2.9 million people.
What you need to know
- Millions of NHS app users in England can now get alerts on their phones and smartwatches when their prescriptions are ready. Thousands of pharmacies are already live with the service.
- The update will help tackle unnecessary calls or premature trips to the chemist to pick up medication, NHS England said.
- Health innovation minister James Frith urged people to enable push alert notifications on the NHS app to benefit from the new feature.
Embracing new technology
Henry Gregg, chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association, said it would free up staff time from answering phone calls and encourage more patients to use the NHS app.
“Pharmacies want to do all they can to embrace new technology and make the vital services they offer as easy and convenient as possible for patients to access,” he said.
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Welcome progress
It’s something many people have been asking for, and alongside other non-digital ways of accessing information and support, can help make it easier for patients to get the information they need in a way that works for them.
Rachel Power, chief executive of the Patients Association
The likely benefits cuts after PM hints at shake-up
Two reviews due this autumn will shape what comes next for universal credit and personal independence payments (PIP).
Andy Burnham said his Government will show “the same boldness as we did on the triple lock” in responding to youth unemployment.
What could Milburn recommend?
Alan Milburn, a former health secretary, is examining why nearly one million 16- to 24-year-olds are not in education, employment or training .
The group’s out-of-work and disability benefits reportedly cost the government around £8.1bn a year.
His review is expected to recommend wholesale changes to get young people into work and bring down the benefits bill.
But Burnham told the Labour conference that savings would come not from “crude cuts” but from “investing in people in their success”.
Universal credit health element
Ministers are considering removing the universal credit health element for under-25s and replacing it with an intensive back-to-work scheme.
Young people who fail to take up intensive support to help them into work will face benefit sanctions, The i Paper understands
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Personal independence payments
PIP helps with the extra living costs of a long-term condition or disability, whether or not you work.
It is now claimed by four million people, with spending forecast to rise from £28.5bn this year to £41.5bn by 2030-31.
The Timms Review is looking at ways to improve PIP and reduce costs.
has reported that the Government is considering new eligibility criteria, though people with the most severe conditions would not be affected.
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What happens next?
- Parliament is expected to debate the Timms proposals before the end of the year, with the Government responding soon after.
- Milburn’s review is likely to be published shortly after the Budget, with savings not expected until 2027.
It is likely to require primary legislation, which provides scope for a Labour rebellion.
Watch more from The i Paper
Sacha Baron Cohen to star in Tarantino’s West End play
star Sacha Baron Cohen will headline when it premieres in London next year.
Quentin Tarantino said he was “keen with anticipation to give the West End a great night out”.
What we know so far
The production marks Tarantino’s first play written for the stage – which he will also direct.
Set in 1830s Europe, has been billed as a “rambunctious comedy of deception and disguise inspired by the grand swashbuckling epics of stage and screen”.
What did Baron Cohen say?
Baron Cohen, best known for comedy characters including Borat and Ali G said: “Quentin called, I said yes before he even got to say his first ‘motherf**ker.”
He added: “When the best director in the world calls, you don’t ask questions. I am beyond delighted that we will be losing our West End virginity together. I have made him [a] promise not to be gentle.”
How can you see it?
- It will premiere at the Phoenix Theatre in London’s West End on 18 March, 2027.
- Tickets go on sale on Monday 12 October.
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The dilapidated submarines were not the navy Vladimir Putin had in mind for Russia’s military future, one in which the Kremlin would once again use its fleets to project power across the world’s oceans. At the time, that vision was less-than-clear to the Western visitors.
Almost two decades later, Russia’s navy is no longer falling apart. Instead, it represents a graver and far more immediate threat: one that is much closer to home.
As Russia’s oil revenues continued to grow in the early Putin era, its defence budget did too. Ukraine dealt a blow to the navy’s prestige with the sinking of the in 2022, but that incident, and other struggles in the Black Sea, don’t tell the full story.
Michael B Petersen wrote in a 2024 paper that the Russian surface fleet, “often mocked as aged and underperforming, is in fact still capable of sustained global operations”. And Russia ended 2025 boasting that it had “the most modern navy”, with one of Putin’s top defence officials claiming that shipbuilders delivered 19 different vessels that year, “as well as three submarines, including the modern strategic nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine ”.
Those statements must be seen for their propaganda value, but there’s no denying that Russia’s navy represents a clear danger to the UK, and a massive increase in defence spending set to accompany Russia’s 2027 budget could translate into more assertiveness.
In recent years there have been repeated sightings of Russian naval ships sailing off the UK coast, including near critical infrastructure.
Two incidents this summer show the growing threat from Russia’s increasingly aggressive navy. On 14 June, a Russian frigate, the , fired warning shots at a British yacht in the Channel. Two days earlier, Royal Marine Commandos boarded and seized a Russian “shadow fleet” oil tanker off the coast.
While the latter wasn’t part of the Russian navy, the – and vessels like it – play a key role in Russia’s economy and Putin’s war machine. They’re called the shadow fleet because they’re often registered under the flags of different countries, but that doesn’t mean Russia’s navy is not watching over them. This could bring more naval vessels closer to our shores.
“Because of the action taken by the UK against the , we’re seeing increased presence of Russian military assets in the English Channel and around these geographic choke points,” Gonzalo Saiz Erausquin, an expert on sanctions enforcement at the Royal United Services Institute, told The i Paper.
Nor is the threat purely military. Many of the shadow fleet vessels are old and, in some cases, of questionable seaworthiness. The grey area of their ownership increases the potential environmental danger. If vessels are Russian owned but sailing under another flag, their insurance would be considered invalid and in the event of an oil spill or another disaster “there will be nobody to pay up, and any affected coastal states will be dealing with the cleanup”, said Erausquin.
In the case of the Channel, that would be us and our nearest neighbours.
So far, Russia’s shadow fleet activity hasn’t been the catalyst for a wider conflict, but Putin has made clear his dismay at efforts by the West to curb this trade. “It’s nothing but piracy and robbery,” Putin said in August on a visit to a Russian naval base. “If this is done, we will be forced to respond in kind.”
Erausquin sees the possibility of more shadow fleet vessels starting to fly the Russian flag, to enjoy the full protection of military escorts, “increasingly risking escalation between the UK and Russia”.
The incident with the yacht this summer was not allowed to escalate. Both London and Moscow sought to play it down, suggesting that Putin understands very well the risk of a wider confrontation if tensions are allowed to go too far.
As always, there is also a propaganda element to such confrontations – a chance for Russia to show it is strong again.
That day at the naval dockyard, we were told we had to agree to our pictures being censored – officially for security reasons, but I suspected partly because they were ashamed of the scenes of dereliction that might appear on Western television screens. That wouldn’t be the case today.
The warning shots fired this June were part of a continuing Kremlin campaign to seek out Western weakness, and a less cautious reaction to a future incident might end very differently. The English Channel is a key shipping lane, with some 500 vessels a day passing through the narrow stretch of water. One miscalculation could lead to a much wider confrontation between Russia and the West.