Tom Tugendhat Warns Iran Has Shown Capability to “Take Down Our Power Grid”

Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat has warned that Iran has demonstrated its capability to target Britain’s critical energy infrastructure, after Iran-linked hackers reportedly forced a small UK power generator offline for four days.

The former security minister told GB News the incident should not be viewed simply as an isolated cyber attack, arguing that it demonstrated the ability of the Iranian state to exploit vulnerabilities in Britain’s infrastructure.

“This is the Iranian state demonstrating clearly to us that they have the capability to take down our power grid,” Mr Tugendhat said. “What they’re trying to do is show us that we are vulnerable and that they can strike back.”

The reported attack, which took place last month, affected a small-scale energy generator and did not threaten the wider UK electricity system, according to the Government. No disruption to the national power supply was reported.

But Mr Tugendhat said the incident should prompt the Government to strengthen the resilience of critical national infrastructure against both cyber attacks and physical sabotage.

“If I were in government right now, I would be having the intelligence chief, the agency heads, into the Cabinet Office and making it absolutely clear that I expect them to prioritise national resilience over everything,” he said. “I would be absolutely certain that electricity, water plants and other areas of critical national infrastructure are appropriately protected.”

He said the threat extended beyond cyber warfare, pointing to the physical sabotage of infrastructure attributed to Russia elsewhere in Europe.

Mr Tugendhat also called for greater use of the National Protective Security Authority, the public-facing security arm of MI5 which works with businesses and organisations to improve their protection against threats.

“When I was the security minister, one of the things we created was the NPSA, which is MI5’s, as it were, public-facing branch,” he said. “It’s an element of MI5 that helps companies keep themselves safe.”

He said the organisation should be reaching out to critical infrastructure operators to ensure they were adequately protected.

Mr Tugendhat argued that Iran’s hostility towards Britain was not new, claiming the regime had targeted the UK in various ways for decades.

“Iran has been targeting us for not six months, not even a year, but for about 20 or 30 years in various different ways,” he said. “They’ve attempted to assassinate journalists here. There’s over 20 incidents where we know that they tried to murder people in the United Kingdom.”

He credited the UK’s intelligence services with preventing attacks and said Britain had taken action against Iran, although he declined to discuss those measures publicly.

Mr Tugendhat also warned that Britain should not assume it was outside the scope of the conflict involving Iran simply because it had not directly attacked the Iranian regime.

“Iran, Russia absolutely believe that we are somehow the head of the snake,” he said. “We are the prime target for anything that they should do. So that means we need to be resilient.”

He said the Government’s priority should therefore be ensuring intelligence and security agencies had the resources needed to protect Britain’s infrastructure.

Mr Tugendhat also criticised Defence Secretary John Healey over the timing of plans to increase defence spending, arguing that the Government should not delay decisions on additional funding while hostile states were already taking action.

“Do you think Iran is waiting? Do you think Russia’s waiting?” he said. “Because I can tell you they’re not. They’re taking action right now.”

The Conservative MP was also asked about claims that HMRC could enter people’s homes as part of proposed council tax valuation inspections.

Mr Tugendhat condemned the reported proposal as excessive state intervention.

“The idea is so un-British, it is so nanny state, it is so interventionist,” he said. “Only a true socialist could have come up with it. It is completely insane.”

He argued that homeowners should not be subjected to officials entering their properties to assess their council tax liability.

“We’re going to have people who are going to get arrested for not allowing some jobsworth from Whitehall to snoop around their house,” he said.

Mr Tugendhat added: “Englishmen, Scotsman, Welshman, Irishman should not be faced with the bureaucratic hand of the state trying to get through their front door to tell them what they owe.”