Britain faces ‘risk of war’ with ‘imperialist’ Putin, says Streeting
Wes Streeting made sobering remarks about Putin's ambitions ahead of the Labour conference
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ambitions pose the “greatest risk” of war in Britain in decades, Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has said.
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Streeting has called Russia the “biggest threat” facing Britain today. And, has pointed to how Russia is continuing to test NATO defences.
These statements come ahead of the Labour conference, where Streeting is expected to “deliver the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War”.
“Without a shadow of a doubt, the biggest threat facing Britain is Russia and President Putin,” said Streeting.
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“We’ve got war in our continent. We’ve got a Russian president who has imperialist ambitions, who is constantly testing Britain’s defences, NATO defences and testing the strength of our alliances.
“And so, the sobering reality is that we face a greater risk of war than we’ve done at any point in my lifetime.”
He said he is confident the country has what it needs to remain safe, but the same would not be true if defences were to “stand still” for five years.
“Strength builds deterrence, and deterrence makes it far less likely that we will end up in a place we don’t want to be – which is at war with Russia or, indeed, anyone else,” he said.
In early September, former Prime Minister Boris Johnson accused Russia of attempting to bomb a train he was aboard on the border of Poland and Ukraine.
Prior to that incident, a spokesperson for Russia said that the UK is at risk of being attacked by “unknown sources” for its continued aid to Ukraine.