>"Nation state attacks using
criminal group as a proxy" is a "fairly new issue"
not really. British SOE (Special Operations Executive) of World War II regularly paid local criminal gangs to carry out espionage and sabotage (you can find this in any miiltary history book about them and MI* in WWII).
Cheltenham appear to have got a few extra quid anyway, they have a new logo (its unusual for the Tories to spend money on things like that during these times of "austerity")