The United Kingdom has confirmed that one of its Royal Navy nuclear-powered submarines surfaced close to the Yantar, a notorious Russian spy ship late last year, to make it clear it was being observed.

Last November, a British submarine surfaced close to the Russian spy ship Yantar to warn it had been covertly tracked while operating near critical underwater infrastructure.

Britain said it monitored a Russian spy ship in the English Channel in recent days and would strengthen its response to secret operations by Russian ships and aircraft in an effort to protect undersea cables.

The Royal Navy has been monitoring a Russian spy ship after it was spotted around UK waters earlier this week, the defence secretary has told MPs. John Healey said the vessel, Yantar, was used for gathering intelligence and mapping the UK's critical underwater infrastructure.