'Russia poses bigger threat to UK than IS'

Russia "indisputably" now poses a bigger threat to Britain's security than terrorist groups like Islamic State (IS) and al-Qaeda, the head of the British army said in an interview published yesterday.

General Mark Carleton-Smith warned Moscow had shown a willingness to use its military to pursue its national interests while seeking to "exploit Western vulnerabilities".

"Russia today indisputably represents a far greater threat to our national security than Islamic extremist threats such as Al-Qaeda and (IS)," he told The Daily Telegraph.

"Russia has embarked on a systematic effort to explore and exploit Western vulnerabilities, particularly in some of the non-traditional areas of cyber, space, undersea warfare."

Relations between Russia and Britain have sunk to historic lows this year after a nerve gas attack which London has squarely blamed on Moscow.

The incident prompted a wave of tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions between Moscow and the West, as well as a ratcheting up of US sanctions.

Carleton-Smith, 54, said following IS battlefield loses in Syria and Iraq, the Western alliance must switch focus to the threat posed by Russia -- and do so through Nato.

Carleton-Smith also took the opportunity to downplay the need for a separate European army, as recently encouraged by French President Emmanuel Macron.

"I would not support any initiative that diluted the military effectiveness of Nato," he said.