Rightly or wrongly, the handling of the killer of those three young girls fits into a wider sense of malaise — that the agenda and values of the British people are not those of the British state and its institutions.
In the last Parliament many persuaded the Conservative Government not only that we needed a more robust approach to China but we needed a more coherent one too. With the advent of a Labour Government, we appear to have given up on that entirely.
The next leader can demonstrate competence and vision by tackling this complex national security issue.
This murder signals that Moscow no longer cares what the collective West thinks, and is set on a course of confrontation. There is a ruthlessness to it the consequences of which we have not yet grasped.
Today Jimmy Lai, founder of the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, sees his thousandth day in prison. But the shadow of the Chinese security state stretches much, much further.
What can we do? Hoover up every bit of information and analysis we can. Task our agencies within finding out not only what is happening but what might happen, work through scenarios, especially the dangerous ones.
Those of us concerned believed we needed some adjustment to the system; there is currently far too much dependence on greenfield sites.
An alternative, merely defensive strategy plays into Putin’s hands by prolonging the war and easing political pressure on the Kremlin.
Although this latest Russian defeat is symbolically dreadful, militarily the withdrawal is entirely sensible.
Support for Ukraine must not waver, but we must not be blind to the risks – but instead seek to manage them as best we can.
A mini-series on ConHome this week from the author of works about new Russian warfare and Kremlin Ukraine activity.
A mini-series on ConHome this week from the author of works about new Russian warfare and Kremlin Ukraine activity.
A mini-series on ConHome this week from the author of works about new Russian warfare and Kremlin Ukraine activity.
Their country is not in any danger of attack, but the leadership in Moscow have spent a decade building a frightening alternate reality.
Let’s be clear, our current China policy will bring neither prosperity nor a promotion of our values, but only long-term impoverishment and shame. It is the policy of appeasers, not patriots.