Britain launches counter-propaganda war against 'fake news' being spread by Kremlin on social media - as Russian embassy compares the UK to the Nazis

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Britain is gearing up for an all-out counter-propaganda war against 'fake news' being spread by Russia and terrorists on social media.

Ministers have ordered a major fightback amid fears over the wave of misinformation and extremist material being distributed online.

A new 'Fusion Doctrine' aims to tackle the evolving threats from states such as the Kremlin and North Korea - as well as groups like ISIS - which use social media and cyber sabotage as part of their offensive capabilities.

Meanwhile, Moscow's embassy in London underlined the nature of their tactics by accusing the UK of behaving like the Nazis towards Russian nationals. 

Whitehall sources said the aftermath of the nerve-agent attack in Salisbury had shown how important it was to combat propaganda.

Whitehall sources said the aftermath of the nerve-agent attack in Salisbury (pictured) had shown how important it was to combat propaganda

Russia's Embassy has responded to the chemical weapons attack by mocking Britain online

Russia had put out more than 20 different stories following the incident 'to try to confuse the picture', they said.

Up to 2,800 Russian bots – computer programmes that generate posts on social media – are also thought to have tried to sow confusion after the poison attack.

In an example of the new response, the Foreign Office issued a rebuttal video online earlier this month that pointed out the contradictory claims coming from the Kremlin. 

Moscow's embassy in London tweeted today comparing Britain's treatment of Russians to the Nazis treatment of jews.

'Targeting all dirty money or just people of a particular nationality? The former is welcome though long overdue, the latter went out of fashion in 1945,' the embassy posted. 

Launching the new National Security Strategy, Theresa May said the government would mobilise 'every capability at our disposal' to address threats.

Security services could take measures including 'suffocating' hashtags on Twitter to prevent extremists from getting their message out.

The BBC World Service could also be given a wider remit to promote British values abroad, while Ofcom could target media organisations that merely produce propaganda.

The security review also warned a that the threat from Islamist terrorism could rise over the next two years.

Intelligence experts fear battle-hardened jihadis in Syria are dispersing to set up cells elsewhere from which to plot attacks on the West.

There are also concerns that die-hard fanatics could try to come back to Britain to carry out massacres.

MI5 chief Andrew Parker (pictured) warned last year that the terror threat was already the worst he had ever seen in his 34-year career

These factors, on top of concerns that youngsters at home are being easily radicalised on the internet, point to a heightened terror threat, spies say.

The assessment comes after MI5 chief Andrew Parker warned last year that the terror threat was already the worst he had ever seen in his 34-year career.

A security shake-up will be detailed in the National Security Capability Review (NSCR) today.

It will state: 'We expect the threat from Islamist terrorism to remain at its current heightened level for at least two years and it might increase further.'

The review will outline the threats facing the UK and how the Government plans to deal with them. In it, Theresa May (pictured) states: 'Every part of our Government and every one of our agencies has its part to play'

The review comes in the wake of five terror attacks on British soil last year and this month's nerve-agent attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter, Yulia, in Salisbury.  

The review will outline the threats facing the UK and how the Government plans to deal with them.

In it, Theresa May states: 'Every part of our Government and every one of our agencies has its part to play. As long as we defend our interests and stand up for our values, there will continue to be those who seek to undermine or attack us. But these people should be in no doubt that we will use every capability at our disposal to defeat them.

'Over the past year we have witnessed appalling terrorist attacks in London and Manchester. But also a brazen and reckless act of aggression on the streets of Salisbury: Attempted murder using an illegal chemical weapon, amounting to an unlawful use of force against the UK.'

She said national security depended on not only the police, security services and the Armed Forces, but 'on our ability to mobilise... the full range of our capabilities in concert'.

The PM said national security depended on not only the police, security services and the Armed Forces but 'on our ability to mobilise... the full range of our capabilities in concert'. Pictured, emergency services after the Manchester Arena attack

Officials have feared for months that IS jihadists defeated in Iraq and Syria could morph into a new terror group.

But the danger from Islamist extremists moving into Africa and other regions seems likely to increase the threat to British citizens. 

A source said: 'There will be further cycles of it. There are cells in Yemen, Nigeria, Somalia, as well as Syria and Iraq. They will still seek to project out. What will happen as the so-called caliphate has essentially been defeated, is that those militants who fought for it are diffusing. So the threat will shift. And some of that could affect us here.'

A senior Whitehall official said: 'The biggest shift in the terrorist threat in my career has been that you can radicalise people in our own communities, people have been radicalised from Syria... through their interactions in cyber space.'