TRUMP CARD OVER NATO

s it wise to appoint a new Digital Secretary who doesn’t do digital? Jeremy Wright last tweeted three years ago when David Cameron was PM, and his promotion only swelled his 89 followers to 286 the following day. We digital dunces must stick together. So in solidarity I became follower number 287.

While Donald Trump should keep his piggy snout out of Brexit, I get the US President’s anger at NATO.

America spends £520billion on defence, 4.2 per cent of its national wealth. Britain is next on two per cent with £42billion a year.

Only little Estonia among the other 27 member states matches our contribution, despite NATO rules stating that all members should spend two per cent of their economic wealth on defence.

Germany, France and other countries lag behind and Trump, not unreasonably, objects to the US coughing up the lion’s share for Europe’s defence when EU countries renege on their pledge to defend themselves. Trump now wants four per cent out of us – which is twice the NHS budget for doctors and nurses.

British taxpayers would not take kindly to more money for bombs and bullets and less for our hard-pressed hospitals and medics.

The answer is for Europe to work towards sorting out its own security – without America. The US Congress wouldn’t like that and may force Trump back to the table for a deal that works for everyone. Equalities minister Vicky Atkins should watch her language when she answers Commons written questions. She boasted of new figures that show the boardrooms of big public companies are now 29 per cent female, up from 12.5 per cent in 2011. But she blotted her feminist copybook by saying she wanted “a sustainable pipeline of women for all FTSE 100 board roles”. One high-flying woman sniffed: “Makes us sound like oil.”