(MENAFN- IANS) London, Nov 24 (IANS) The Royal Navy has intercepted a Russian warship and a tanker off the British coast in a shadowing operation in the past fortnight, local media quoted Britain's defence ministry as saying.

HMS Severn, a Royal Navy patrol vessel, shadowed the RFN Stoikiy corvette and a tanker vessel, which sailed through the Dover Strait and westward through the English Channel, the ministry said, without specifying the time of interception.

HMS Severn later handed over monitoring duties to "a NATO ally," said the ministry, but continued to observe from a distance, Xinhua news agency reported.

It came after British Defence Secretary John Healey said on Wednesday that a Russian ship, Yantar, which was sailing on the edge of British waters, pointed lasers at the Royal Air Force pilots monitoring its movement.

While Britain labelled Yantar as a "Russian spy ship," the Russian embassy in Britain stated that it was merely an "oceanographic research vessel" operating in international waters, adding that Russia's actions did not impact Britain's interests and were not intended to undermine the country's security.

The Russian Embassy in London dismissed the allegations, accusing the UK of "whipping up militaristic hysteria," further adding that Russia has no intention of compromising British security and insisted that its vessels were operating in line with international law.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised a hike in military expenditure amid growing threats from Russia, China and Iran, but the Treasury faces difficult choices as it works to plug a multi-billion-pound deficit.

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