Brexit has made a European security pact more difficult

MASTER of rhetoric Boris Johnson clearly relishes the opportunity afforded by the war in Ukraine to demonstrate his public speaking skills.

The UK Government is nevertheless to be commended for assisting Ukraine in defending itself from the evil aggression of the arch-bully and child killer Putin. However, the nostalgic and isolationist doctrine of Brexit to which selfpromoting Johnson and his Tory acolytes are beholden has made it much more difficult to combat Russia’s xenophobia.

Russia is absolutely wrong to have invaded Ukraine. Putin’s actions are evil and unjustifiable. But Brexit has complicated matters.

At its best America is a great country but at its worst, the US military industrial complex needs an enemy. The USA of 2022 is no longer the generous internationalist superpower that helped free Europe from Nazi and Fascist tyranny, with the help of the Soviet Union. The gap between rich and poor in the USA makes it an unattractive society. Without Brexit, Britain and France could have been leading an effective joint purely European response to Russia. Russia doesn’t want America stationed on its borders. It might, I agree just might, accept a purely European security pact. Maybe it wouldn’t. But Brexit makes it more difficult to achieve.

Self-indulgent Brexit Britain, with the inhumane Priti Patel at the helm conspiring to make it as difficult as possible for Ukrainian children to come here as refugees, suffers from a pontificating self-absorbed Prime Minister using the war to bask in Churchillian nostalgia.

From: MK O’Sullivan, Bywater, Castleford.

Allerton

NOT for the first time recently has the Yorkshire Post focused attention on actions, or non actions by this Conservative government.

I refer here to the editorial on May 2, on the topic of long, very long delays in visa issues to Ukrainian refugees, thousands of whom are waiting, waiting, and waiting to move.

Many have been told that they can move, but where are the visas, you might well ask? Visa issues have divided families, children not included, a common reason despite Home Office Minister Kevin Foster denying this. Holme Valley Homes for Ukrainians say that out of 160 applications 40 had pulled out due to delays in obtaining visas. Foster will know now that on May 2 the Home Office admitted to processing problems with visas for refugees.