Britain flexes its muscles

DEFENCE MINISTER: WITH EU EXIT D-DAY FAST APPROACHING, WILLIAMSON TALKS TOUGH

Brexit has brought us to a moment when we must enhance our lethality, he says.

Britain should be ready to use military force to support its global interests after Brexit, Defence Minister Gavin Williamson said yesterday, adding that the boundaries between peace and war are becoming blurred.

Williamson will outline plans to send its new aircraft carrier to the Pacific, invest in offensive cyber capabilities and adopt a harder military stance after Brexit than it has done in recent years.

“Brexit has brought us to a great moment in our history. A moment when we must strengthen our global presence, enhance our lethality, and increase our mass,” he said in London

Britain is in the midst of its most severe political crisis since World War II as Prime Minister Theresa May scrambles to find a last-minute deal on leaving the European Union (EU) with only weeks until it is due to end over four decades of political and economic integration in Europe.

Brexit has been seen as a blow to the West, already struggling to assimilate Russian and Chinese power as well as Donald Trump’s unpredictable US presidency. Brexit supporters hail it as a chance for Britain to take on a new global role.

“We can build new alliances, rekindle old ones and most importantly make it clear that we are the country that will act when required. And, a nation that people can turn to when the world needs leadership,” Williamson said.

He was expected to announce that the first mission of the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier will include work in the Mediterranean, Middle East and Pacific regions, and the vessel would carry two squadrons of British and US F-35 jets.

Williamson highlighted close US-UK military links and echoed Trump’s call for North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) countries to increase their spending, citing a need to better handle what he called Russian provocation.

Moscow’s relations with the West are strained over issues including Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, allegations of meddling in the last United States presidential election and being behind a nerve agent attack in Britain.

“Such action from Russia must come at a cost,” Williamson said in the speech.