Boris: I was too optimistic about Putin

BORIS Johnson says he now regrets believing he could transform Britain’s relationship with Russia. He told an event in Washington DC that the final straw was the novichok attack in Salisbury.

‘I made the classic, classic mistake of thinking it was possible to have a re-set with Russia,’ the former foreign secretary said.

‘I wanted to engage with Putin and his foreign minister Sergei Lavrov to see if we could start talking about areas, like Syria, where we needed to engage ... like tackling Islamist terrorism. Then it just became clearer and clearer to me that that was a fool’s errand.’

He said the nerve agent attack in March made his ‘blood boil’.

When pressed on whether trusting the Russians was his biggest mistake, Mr Johnson replied: ‘It wasn’t that I trusted them, I believed that I was sufficiently over-confident to think that I could reach out and engage and make a difference. And they haven’t changed.’

THIS paper warmly applauds the Duchess of Cambridge on her plans for a ‘gamechanging’ crusade to give vulnerable children a better start in life.

The signs are this will be a deeply serious enterprise, involving academic research and co-ordinating the work of charities to break the vicious cycle of poverty in disadvantaged families, blamed for countless social ills such as gang violence.

In shouldering this ‘life-long project’, revealed by the Mail today, she will follow the fine example of her parents-in-law, with their tireless campaigning for causes they made their own – from Prince Charles’s environmental interests to the late Princess Diana’s work to combat Aids and clear landmines.

As the mother of three heirs, the duchess could have settled down to a life of comparative idleness.

Instead, she has shown she understands how her high profile as the wife of the second in line to the throne can be used as a powerful force for good.

Yes, she will have to tread carefully to avoid plunging too deeply into the political fray. But she has shown she has a sensible head on her shoulders. This, and her evident appetite for duty, should see her through.

The Mail wishes her every success in the hugely important work that lies ahead.