RAF pilots were put at risk by the infamous “Signalgate” group chat leak, a former head of the Army has said.
Ex-Chief of the General Staff Lord Dannatt has revealed that because the RAF provided routine support to the American strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen, the leak would “undoubtedly” have put British personnel at “higher risk”.
A British Voyager plane was used to refuel US jets defending the aircraft carrier, which launched the strikes on March 15.
The plane flew from the RAF airbase in Akrotiri, Cyprus, to assist aircraft protecting the USS Truman in the Red Sea.
A British Voyager plane was used to refuel US jets defending the aircraft carrier which launched the strikes on March 15
ROYAL AIR FORCE
Members of the group chat included Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and Donald Trump’s Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
The leak occurred when the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic magazine was accidentally added to the “Houthi PC small group” chat on the Signal messaging app.
Lord Dannatt told The Telegraph: “As US officials gave away classified information about future operations in which the RAF were involved, this undoubtedly placed British personnel at higher risk.”
He added: “I hope the White House will tighten its security rapidly and considerably. We will continue to operate with the US but need to be confident about their operational security.”
A Ministry of Defence spokesman clarified: “The UK did not participate in the March 15 US strikes against Houthi targets but provided routine allied air-to-air refuelling support to aid the self-defence of a US aircraft carrier in the region.”
MORE ON THE ‘SIGNALGATE’ FALLOUT:
PICTURED: Inside a RAF Voyager refuelling mid-air
MOD
Meanwhile, Greg Bagwell, a former RAF senior commander, noted that while British jets routinely participate in air-to-air refuelling, this case occurred “in the context of a breach in national security”.
He explained on social media that tankers would have been kept “out of harm’s way” – and weren’t “overly compromised by the release of launch and strike times”.
Bagwell added that strike packages would likely have delayed their attack had they known timings were compromised.
An RAF source also downplayed operational concerns.
“Our asset wasn’t anywhere near the striking so, from the RAF perspective, this is a political storm not an operational one,” they said.
‘I just hate bailing Europe out again,’ Vance wrote
REUTERS
Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, admitted that “someone made a big mistake” when commenting on the leak on Wednesday.
In the group chat, Vice President JD Vance raised objections to the Yemen bombing plans, arguing they weren’t in American interests.
“I just hate bailing Europe out again,” the VP wrote – and pointed out to his colleagues that only three per cent of US trade runs through the Suez Canal compared to 40 per cent of European trade.
Hegseth responded: “VP: I fully share your loathing of European freeloading. It’s pathetic.”