Unity with EU a must for security

IT’S only just over three weeks since the referendum vote to pull Britain out of the EU, but already there are stark reminders of how closely this country is entwined with Europe.

The terrible slaughter in Nice is another catastrophe to strike our nearest neighbours, while the attempted coup in Turkey threatened to undermine that nation’s pivotal role in dealing with the millions of immigrants pouring across its borders with Iraq and Syria.

Brexit may well mean Brexit, as Theresa May says, but we cannot afford to let it lead us into an isolation which will not just destabilise Europe, but threaten us.

It’s too late to complain about the failure of the referendum campaign to deal with the critical issue of security.

But just because there has not been a major war on our continent for 70 years doesn’t mean European unity isn’t as essential as it has ever been.

The deals that must be done in the next few years cannot just be about trade. Critical alliances must not just be retained and cemented but boosted.

No country can stand alone in these troubling times of terrorism, insurrection, mass movement of people and political instability.

The idea that we can stand alone and pull up a drawbridge that will keep our citizens safe from what’s happening in the world isn’t just fanciful but positively dangerous.

We are fighting an enemy that will employ the most cruel and barbaric tactics to destroy us and our way of life.

We cannot cut ourselves off or mock any of them, as Boris Johnson mocked Turkey before he was made Foreign Secretary. We need them and they need us.

It is not enough to give them our sympathy when tragedy strikes.

We must work with them to protect their people as well as ours.

The UK has always been a vital partner in times of crisis. We must be so again now.