Upstart defence chief deserves bullet from May
Last week you reported on your front page that Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has said he will effectively bring down Theresa May if she doesn’t agree to his demand for an extra £20 billion for his department.
This sort of blackmail is the reason why many don’t trust the former Tory Chief Whip, who has threatened to vote against Mrs May’s Budget if she ignores him.
And also, exactly where is this money coming from? Williamson’s plans for the money and his focus on conventional military feel half-baked to me: I agree with Mrs May that we need to think carefully about what we spend in this day and age. She believes we must protect Britain against cyber-attacks and other new threats, with a reduced focus on more traditional military hardware. That seems reasonable.
V. de Bheal, London
Theresa May is now holed below the waterline and merely clinging on to her position by her fingertips – until her grip is dislodged. If she had real control, she would throw Williamson – and that other loose cannon Boris Johnson – overboard.
It must be embarrassing for her to be treated with such contempt by those who are supposed to share her ideals and be her allies. She did promote them so could easily reverse her position, if she had the nerve. She should direct her withering death stare towards her disloyal colleagues and put an end to their shenanigans.
Denis Bruce, Glasgow
The long knives are out for Theresa May no matter which way she turns, with her lacklustre leadership close to sinking her already rocky boat.
One wonders if there’s any of her Cabinet left that she can turn to for a morale boost.
Threats from upstarts such as Williamson may not please her, but it’s time she took heed, for Britain is fast becoming a spent force.
With Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin planning a tete-a-tete and Britain embroiled in failing Brexit banality, it’s not a case of if Mrs May will be heading for a swift retirement but when.
Then there are all of the women who were conned out of their rightful pensions because they were born in the 1950s and have been left short by changes in the system. They’re desperate to give their votes to anyone but her, so she hasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell of a bounce back post-Brexit.
Kathleen Richardson, Manchester
We are already the world’s fifth-highest spenders on defence, with £35.3 billion a year. In Europe, only France spends as much.
Italy spends a lot less, but has a similar population and length of coastline to Britain.
Interestingly, Italy is second on the world list when it comes to health while we are way down the rankings.
There’s more risk, to most of us, from healthcare issues than attacks by other countries. I wonder if the Defence Secretary depends on the NHS?
Mervyn Williams, Waterloo, Huddersfield