Putin is waging cyberwar against Britain with campaign of hack attacks and fake news propaganda

RUSSIA is waging an unconventional propaganda war against Britain, government officials have confirmed for the first time ever.

Senior figures in Whitehall believe The Kremlin is behind an effort to undermine the country via a barrage of spying, cyberattacks and "fake news".

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Theresa May is set to chair a meeting of the National Security Council in the next few weeks to examine the issues raised by Moscow's behaviour towards Britain and her allies, The Times reports.

A source told the paper that at a high level meeting in the Cabinet Office two months ago "there was an agreement on the need to do more across Whitehall to understand and assess and formulate options on how to respond to Russian activities,".

The news comes as US officials claim Vladimir Putin was personally involved in Russian efforts to hack the Presidential election.

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Barack Obama has vowed to take action as the allegations around Kremlin involvement in the vote that saw Donald Trump take the White House.

He said: "We need to take action and we will at a time and place of our own choosing."

Taking aim at Moscow he added: "Don't do this stuff to us, because we can do this to you."

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There is also increased concern that British institutions and companies may have been penetrated by Russian spies.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Stuart Peach has called for an increased effort to snare moles, which may even include some UK citizens.

This new type of warfare The Kremlin is thought to be engaged in could include state-run Russian news outlets including RT and Sputnik spreading propaganda to influence British audiences.

The term "hybrid warfare" is being used to describe these attacks in which anything — propaganda, cyberattacks, economic sanctions — can be used to influence and change the facts on the ground

Russia has denied the allegations.

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