Reason why 'the Brits win every war' must never be forgotten

Since Napoleonic times and beyond, the UK has taken great care to foster alliances and international agreements that have proved to be vital to this country’s defence and security.

It has also taken those agreements extremely seriously. The UK’s guarantee of Belgian neutrality saw it enter the First World War after Germany’s invasion in 1914 and a defence agreement with Poland triggered our declaration of war when Hitler’s forces attacked in 1939.

Vital co-operation with Europe

Had Britain truly ‘stood alone’ during either of these cataclysmic conflicts, the results would have been very different. So it is vitally important that the UK continues, first and foremost, to remain a member of Nato and also to co-operate closely on defence with fellow European democracies.

At a time when almost any joint projects with the European Union come in for criticism from some quarters in this country – despite the obvious threat posed by Vladimir Putin’s tyrannical regime – this needs to be said.

So it is hugely welcome that F-35 warplanes from aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales took part in a joint Nato exercise with Italian jets off the coast of Naples. If the ‘hybrid warfare’ deployed by Russia against democratic states ever becomes real warfare, such exercises will help our Armed Forces defend this country and our allies, whose fates are interlinked.

‘A message to Putin’

Defence Secretary John Healey, who visited the carrier with Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper, described Italy as “one of our closest Nato allies” and said: “We are in a new era of threat that demands a new era for defence.

“Our strength comes from hard power and strong alliances... This today sends a message to Putin and any would-be adversaries.”

This is how wars are won and how they are deterred. Patriotic bluster, whether real or for comic effect, simply does not cut it.