Britain has all but declared war on Russia, by declaring it to be a hostile power, illegally occupying Crimea.

There can therefore be no “innocent right of passage” by British warships in Russian territorial waters, particularly given the proximity of the Sebastopol naval base.

Russia needs to make the distinction between civilian sea traffic and military traffic and draw a red line regarding incursions by warships of hostile powers.

It appears inevitable that the ``British Government’ divorced as it is from any public support for its provocations, is going to get a bloody nose. We can only hope that is all it gets.