Chinese spy balloons 'may have passed over UK' as government launches security review

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A series of suspected Chinese spy balloon incursions into western airspace has prompted the UK Defense Secretary to call for a security review.

Ben Wallace said he would work with the United States and other partners to review the intelligence and assess the threat posed by the surveillance devices.

Washington ordered another balloon to be lifted from the skies over the United States on Sunday, the third in just over a week. A United States Air Force plane shot down a balloon in Canadian airspace on Saturday courtesy of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The Westminster review will be used to determine whether changes must be brought to British Sky Watch. Mr Wallace said earlier this week that Chinese spy balloons may well have already circled the UK.

Speaking to The Sun, he said: " Is it true that a Chinese satellite probably circled Britain and watched us? I would have to think so.'"

On Sunday evening he said: "The United Kingdom and its Allies will consider what these airspace intrusions mean for our security. This development is another sign of how the global threat picture is worsening."

The White House said that Chinese balloons had been spotted on five continents, without specifying which ones.

Wallace said the threat to global security

(Getty)

The first balloon was shot down Saturday, February 4, as a "high-altitude object" was shot down over Alaska on Friday. followed by another over Canada's northwestern province of Yukon on Saturday.

On Sunday, the U.S. military said it shot down another unidentified object flying over Lake Huron, between the US state of Michigan and Ontario in Canada.

China claimed it was preparing to shoot down an object near its shores, but gave no further information.

Mr. Wallace has previously said that if any of the balloons were sighted over the UK, it would be shot down.