Gavin Grey: UK correspondent on Denmark banning all civilian drone flights ahead of EU summit

Denmark will ban all civilian drone flights across the country over the coming days to ensure security as Copenhagen prepares to host a European Union summit.

Mysterious drone sightings across Denmark since September 22 have prompted the closure of several airports, with Denmark hinting at possible Russian involvement, though Moscow denies the charge.

UK correspondent Gavin Grey says people caught breaking the rules will face a fine - or up to two years in prison.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Devin Gray, UK correspondents with us Elogevin Hi there right.
So no civilian drone flights in Dean mac.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
No, not for at least three days. And this is
all part of what's been going on with drone incursions
from we don't know whom, but the fingers being pointed
in Russia over not just Denmark but other countries as well.
And so Denmark is one of several countries now reporting
these drone incidents as recently as Saturday, this time the

(00:28):
most serious drone incursions over their airspace because they flew
over Danish military sites and they had to shut the
airspace because they couldn't shoot them down because they're in
densely populated areas. So today ten EU countries are sending
their defense ministers for a summit in order to create
what they're saying is a drone wall. So lots of

(00:51):
countries now looking at basically enhanced vigilance. They're saying across
the Baltic in the statement, and before this meeting, the
police in Denmark's and they're on significantly increased alert ahead
of the summit and they needed to take care of
Danes and our guests. Now anyone court flying a drone
or could face a fine or up to two years imprisonment.

(01:13):
And both Sweden and France are sending military equipment and
anti drone capabilities to Denmark and Baltic neighbors, including what
are said to be powerful radar systems, in order to
help them monitor the drones but also to prevent them
getting anywhere in the first instance. And it's not just

(01:34):
as I mentioned Denmark, it's also other countries Norways had
drone incursions. And when you add to the fact as
well that make thirty five Russian five to jets have
flown over Estonia, twenty Russian drones entered into Polish airspace,
it gives you an idea of the frenzied nervousness of
many European leaders.

Speaker 1 (01:53):
Hey, how long did this political staffer in Germany get
in jail for spying?

Speaker 2 (01:59):
Four years and nine It's an extraordinary story because jianzou
Is his name, had worked in Brussels, the heart of
the European Union machinery as it were, for an alternative
for Deutschland far right German politician. He was Maximilian Crew
as a member of the European Parliament five years and

(02:21):
the court in Eastern Germany dressed and heard how Kral's
former aid had gathered information and passed on confidential documents
to Chinese authorities. Interestingly, he was also accused of spying
on Chinese dissidents in Germany and opposition figures too. The
court in Dressed had said it was particularly serious case,
although in his trial the accused said he was not guilty,

(02:45):
said he did not work for Chinese intelligence agency and
said I am innocent. So yeah, an interesting case and
one being mirrored I think by other cases currently going
through the courts in other EU countries.

Speaker 1 (02:57):
Listen, are the cops into this idea of getting people
to knack on each other and behind the wheel.

Speaker 2 (03:03):
Yeah, and what's more, they're not being needing to get
much encouragement. So now it's estimated one in three British
cars has a dash cam, in other words, a little
camera switched on permanently when you're driving that looks forward
and sometimes backwards. And they have proven to be incredibly
useful when saying, look, this accident was not my fault
and here is the proof. But not just that. Now

(03:28):
the police are receiving clips from dashcam footage that people
are sending them saying this person driving in front of
me drove like an idiot and he should be prosecuted,
and surprise, surprise, that police are taking these clips and prosecuting.
There's been an increase in the number of videos being
sent to the police of fifty five percent in the
last two years. So indeed, last couple of years, two

(03:52):
hundred and ten thousand clips have been sent. Almost one
in five ended with police for sending the driver of
the car being filmed a fixed penalty, About one in
three submissions prompted official warnings, about one in eight requiring
drivers to attend retraining courses, and about one in twenty

(04:12):
leading to court prosecutions. The Internet is dubbing these people
dash cam snitches, because they're saying, you know, you're not police,
you shouldn't be filming, et cetera, et cetera, but because
they can film, and dangerous driving is dangerous driving, and
so consequently the police are yeah encouraging this, and other
drivers are too. Incidentally, some insurance companies now are pretty

(04:33):
much insisting that dashcam footage's. Dashcam cameras are being fitted
to cars just for this very reason, to say, look,
this driver, this client of ours was not to blame
for the accident. We're not paying this other driver and
their insurance are very interesting, Kevin.

Speaker 1 (04:50):
Thanks very much, Kevin Gray, UK correspondent. Rot for more
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