He said he Nato alliance will not be intimidated by “sabre rattling"

Britain and its Nato allies are in a Cold War-style arms race with Russia, the British defence secretary indicated today.

Michael Fallon said that a war game taking place this week in Poland, close to the Russian border, was sending a message to Moscow that the alliance will not be intimidated by “sabre rattling”.

His comments came as it emerged that several Russian ships have come “too close for comfort” to a detachment of four Nato warships, including the Royal Navy’s flagship, which is taking part in the exercise, a US naval source said.

The vessels were spotted over the past few days within a mile of the Nato position, which is in the Baltic Sea just over 100 miles west of Kaliningrad, a Russian