Rishi Sunak told the cabinet on Tuesday he was struck by the number of people at last weekend’s Munich security conference who noted that “UK leadership had played an important part in the global response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine”.
For once, it wasn’t just spin. I’ve talked to some of the participants in Munich. They confirmed the plaudits for the UK, and said the prime minister made a good impression, describing him variously as “serious,” “smart” and “trustworthy.” Not everything went according to plan for Sunak. He spoke to a half-empty hall because, after she introduced him, the US vice president, Kamala Harris, departed – in her 35-car motorcade. Security staff closed the hotel entrance, so people couldn’t get in to hear the PM. (There was much grumbling in the margins about the intense US security, which saw even a furious Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, caught in a 20-minute holding operation on his home soil.)
Sunak’s message went down well for those who did hear it. He told the conference the West needed to do more to boost Ukraine’s long-term security, saying: “We must give them the advanced, Nato-standard capabilities that they need for the future. And we must demonstrate that we’ll remain by their side, willing and able to help them defend their country again and again.”
