Pat McFadden, the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, is speaking at a NATO cyber defence conference at Lancaster House, where he warns that for the UK and its allies, “cyberwar is now a daily reality”.

Mr McFadden tells the audience the UK is locked in a “new AI arms race” with countries like Russia and North Korea – and security officials are countering their attacks both publicly and behind the scenes.

He says Russia is engaged in a deliberate attempt to “pick away” at state and public support for Ukraine by targeting the infrastructure of NATO members, such as financial services and energy and health care sectors.

‘Appeasing dictators only encourages them’

Mr McFadden singles out the activity of Unit 29155, a Russian military unit the government claims has been behind a number of attacks in the UK and Europe.

But he says: “We know from history that appeasing dictators only encourages them.

“Britain learned long ago the importance of standing strong in the face of such actions.

“We will not join those voices of weakness who want to give Putin a veto over our help for Ukraine. We will not be intimidated by it, and we will never allow it to dictate our decisions or our policies.”

As expected, Mr McFadden announces a new Laboratory for AI Security Research (LASR) will be set up to allow the UK to keep up with its adversaries – who include not only Russia, but Iran and China.