Ex-Nato ambassador’s warning over defence cuts

A ROW over defence spending has created a ‘toxic battleground’ that threatens national security, Britain’s former ambassador to Nato warned last night.

Sir Adam Thomson said that if Donald Trump ‘moderates’ the US’s commitment to Nato, Britain will be left to ‘fill the gaps’.

He also warned that if Mr Trump does a deal with Russia ‘over the heads of European allies’ then it could do ‘great damage’ to Nato and US-Europe relations.

On Wednesday US defence secretary General James Mattis issued an ultimatum to other Nato countries, saying other members had to increase military spending or see the US ‘moderate its commitment’.

Speaking at Nato’s Brussels HQ, he also said he did not see the conditions for military collaboration with Russia.

But his comments came as US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson met with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov in the highest level face-to-face contact between the two nations since Mr Trump took office.

Sir Adam, who is now director of the European Leadership Network, said allies ‘must wake up’. He told the Daily Mail the defence burden-sharing had become a ‘toxic battleground’, adding: ‘It’s toxic because it is political, it involves serious money.’

He said if the US moderates its commitment to the alliance then it would mean other allies, including Britain, ‘would have to commit more in order to fill the gaps’.

On potential US relations with Russia, Sir Adam added: ‘It would not be good for Trump to do deals with Russia over the heads of European Allies. That could do great damage to Nato and to US-Europe relations.’