The UK will maintain “vigilance” in the North Sea in response to alleged Russian spy ships operating near offshore energy infrastructure, a minister has said.

Baroness Goldie said the activities of Russian vessels suspected of gathering intelligence will be watched closely.

Earlier this month, a joint investigation by European broadcasters claimed a Russian ship called the Admiral Vladimirsky was part of an operation to map undersea infrastructure.

According to the report, the ship sailed around the Baltic Sea and the North Sea for a month, passing current and future wind farms off the coast of several Scandinavian countries, as well as the Moray Firth.

Admiral Vladimirsky is officially a research vessel but Danish journalists filmed an armed man in military gear on its deck.

Baroness Goldie, a defence minister, spoke to the PA news agency at Faslane naval base on the Clyde, as military leaders from Nato countries gathered for a regular meeting of the North Atlantic Council.

Asked about the reports of Russian activity in the North Sea, she said: “We take that presence very seriously, as do our Nato allies, and we all have a role to play.

“The United Kingdom deployed one of our vessels, HMS Somerset, to be in the vicinity.

“We do constantly track and monitor the activity of vessels like these Russian purported-to-be fishing vessels but may be something very different.

“We are constantly aware of what they are doing.

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