Shapps's plane GPS 'jammed' near Russian territory

An RAF plane carrying Defence Secretary Grant Shapps had its GPS signal jammed while flying close to Russian territory.

The flight was on its way to the UK from Poland when the satellite signal - which is used to determine location - was temporarily interfered with.

It happened near Kaliningrad, a Russian exclave on the Baltic, on Wednesday.

A security source told the BBC it is not unusual for interference to occur in airspace near the region.

They said the safety of the aircraft was not in danger during the incident.

Mobile phones were unable to connect to the internet during the interference, the Times reported.

Journalists accompanying Mr Shapps on his visit to Poland - where he discussed support for Ukraine with his Polish counterpart - were on board at the time.

A Western official told the BBC that Kaliningrad "has got significant sort of electronic warfare capabilities" and it "wouldn't be surprising, alas, if an aircraft fell foul of that in some way".

A Downing Street spokesperson confirmed the plane "experienced GPS jamming when they flew close to Kaliningrad".

They added: "It didn't threaten the safety of the aircraft and it is not unusual for aircraft to experience GPS jamming near Kaliningrad, which is of course Russian territory."