The Nato alliance can’t rest on its laurels

Boris Johnson’s dramatic visit to Kyiv yesterday illustrates how much of a lead Britain is taking in supporting Ukraine’s resistance to Russia. It was also announced that the UK is now going to send armoured vehicles and anti-ship missiles.

But no one in the Nato alliance can rest on their laurels, including the UK. The war in Ukraine has exposed the West’s historic failure to invest in military preparedness as a strategic mistake. Many European member states were not hitting Nato’s target of spending at least 2 per cent of GDP on defence, including Germany, which is also still importing vast amounts of energy from Russia and would have pushed ahead with the Nord Stream 2 pipeline were it not for Ukraine. The West has lined the dictator’s pockets for years.

Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary general of Nato, tells this newspaper that we must adjust to a “new reality”. At present, Nato stations a limited number of troops in countries bordering Russia, so that if Putin attacks, the rest of the alliance, theoretically, would be triggered into action. This “tripwire” deterrence, which did not prevent the invasion of Ukraine – although it is not a Nato member, it is a partner of the West – will be replaced with a new strategy of “deterrence by denial or defence”. In other words, a major force will be stationed on the alliance’s borders capable of taking on an invading army. Mr Stoltenberg adds that Nato needs to beef up its response to China.

The implication is that we are entering a new Cold War, a long-term struggle against authoritarian powers that threaten our very way of life. The West is finally waking up. Sanctions have been applied; many European states are beginning the process of decoupling from Russian energy markets. And if Germany makes good on its promise to spend 2 per cent of its GDP on defence, its budget will exceed that of the UK.

Britain has long met the 2 per cent target, yet it is still set to cut the size of the Army to its smallest since the Napoleonic wars, while the RAF is low on fast jets and the Navy on operational warships. The UK will not be capable of properly meeting its obligations to Nato if we continue degrading our military capabilities.

Of course, our Armed Forces must be efficient and flexible, with strong investment in cyber and intelligence. But it cannot be positive that our so-called war-fighting division has only two armoured brigades, including just 112 tanks.

As Mr Stoltenberg points out, the 2 per cent figure has always been intended to be a floor, not a ceiling. It is time for Britain to cease cutting, and build the defence force of the future.

Energy failures

Most countries are now having to contend with the consequences of the sudden increase in energy prices. But it is a damning indictment of the Westminster establishment that so little was done in the decades before the present crisis to bolster the UK’s energy security. Now, that same myopic establishment threatens to stand in the way of potential solutions.

As the industrialist Sir Jim Ratcliffe writes in today’s newspaper, the UK was once a pioneer in nuclear energy, yet it fell from political fashion and new stations were not built. We enjoyed an abundance of North Sea gas, too, but we have slipped from a net exporter to importing half of our requirements. Perhaps worst of all, we botched our golden opportunity to exploit domestic shale resources. In the US, poor communities have been transformed by fracking; here, significant reserves were identified, but activists scared the authorities into imposing a moratorium.

Likewise, the entrepreneur Lord Bamford tells this newspaper that he fears the UK is falling behind our European rivals on hydrogen because ministers are obsessed with electricity replacing fossil fuels. We have previously reported that civil servants are opposed to so-called “blue hydrogen”, produced from natural gas.

This is all lamentable and illustrates the dangers of a centrally planned energy policy. This crisis is going to be painful for consumers and businesses. The Government should be open to all potential solutions, not capitulating to the demands of extreme climate activists or allowing bureaucrats to impose their prejudices on the rest of us.

Against all odds

Last Thursday, Sam Waley-Cohen announced that he would retire from racing after the Grand National. Yesterday, Mr Waley-Cohen won the Grand National. The 39-year-old amateur sounded as if he couldn’t believe it himself. “Over 23 years, a dream,” he said, and gave thanks to his father and to his “long-suffering” wife.

His horse, Noble Yeats, was also considered something of a novice, and now, at his peak, will have to find a new rider. Noble might be interested to hear that Matt Hancock, the former health secretary, is an amateur jockey, too, and is looking to revive his reputation. The National is a “fantasy,” said Mr Waley-Cohen, a case of “getting on the right horses and getting luck”. He could so easily be describing the world of Westminster.