Europe’s moment of truth on Putin
TODAY’S Lancaster House summit on Ukraine has become one of the most crucial meetings on European defence since the end of World War Two.
A tumultuous week started with the United States siding with Russia at the United Nations and ended with the explosive Oval Office row between Presidents Trump and Zelensky.
RexPrime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron[/caption]
The brutal ambush of the heroic Ukrainian leader has handed Vladimir Putin a massive propaganda victory and left the prospects of a peace deal hanging by a thread.
Summit host Sir Keir Starmer must today impress on more than a dozen heads of state they must unite for one practical purpose.
That is to provide concrete pledges of military support.
This is no time for warm words and selfies. Europe’s leaders must put their hands in their pockets and commit, as Britain has done, to increased defence spending.
President Macron hinted last week that the French nuclear deterrent could finally be extended across Europe. That is the bare minimum France should provide.
Now is also the time to unfreeze £250billion in seized Russian assets that have still not been released for use in the defence of Ukraine.
Even if a peace deal can be revived after the White House row, President Trump has made it clear the burden of security would fall to Europe.
But where is the incentive for the tyrant Putin to accept a peace deal?
After three years of bloodshed he has maimed and slaughtered hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians. Now, without offering a single concession, he is celebrating and hoping for the break-up of Nato.
Sir Keir and Europe’s leaders must unite today to prove him wrong.
Give yob MP the boot
IMAGINE being confronted and punched to the ground by your own drunken MP.
That’s what happened to dad-of-two Paul Fellows when he chatted to thug politician Mike Amesbury in a taxi rank.
The MP’s savage attack was bad enough.
But afterwards police told Mr Fellows incorrectly that there was no CCTV of the incident and the then Labour MP claimed he was acting in self-defence.
It was only after footage emerged that Amesbury admitted his guilt.
Initially sentenced to ten weeks’ jail, he was released on appeal last week.
This violent lout is not only a free man, but still in his £91,346-a-year job as MP for Runcorn and Helsby. His voters must unite to kick him out.
Every day he spends in the job drags our democracy further into the gutter.
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