Ukraine: Ban Liz Truss from Twitter self-promotion before she provokes Putin and Russia again over World War Three – GP Taylor

How Putin has lost the faith of Russia’s soldiers as Ukrainain war becomes the world’s worst nightmare – Colonel Bob Stewart

One thing Putin will not tolerate is threats from politicians shooting their mouths off in order to attempt to raise their profile and get more followers on Twitter.

At a time of an international crisis, politicians should guard their words carefully and not turn every crisis meeting into a photo opportunity to be shared on social media.

The person I find most worrying is Liz Truss, who is all over Twitter like an embarrassing rash. For someone who is in such a position of importance she appears to have difficulty in keeping her own counsel. I always believed a Foreign Secretary should be diplomatic and not problematic.

In one sentence, she managed to plunge the world into the threat of another world war shortly after she ecnouraged Britons to join the Ukrainian ‘foreign legion’ before being rebuked by the Ministry of Defence.

Yet Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin press spokesperson, said: “There were unacceptable statements about possible conflict situations and even confrontations and clashes between Nato and Russia. I will not name the authors of these statements, although it was the British Foreign Secretary.”

Her words and the Russian reply to them sent me into the cellar to prepare the fall-out shelter. Who would have known that the road from opening up pork markets to nuclear war with Russia would be so short?

How can someone in such a position of responsibility be so stupid – and, at the same time, show a woefully inadequate grip on geography? Surely politicians should think about the consequences of each word before they allow them to fall from their lips?

Liz Truss has to realise that no matter how hard she tries by riding on a tank in a Margaret Thatcher cosplay suit, she is not the Iron Lady.

Mrs Thatcher would have handled the whole matter differently and I doubt she would have even let it get this far.

The Russian rat is backed into a corner and from my own experience, rats strike out when they have no escape. Now is not the time to make idle threats to a nation that has enough nuclear weapons to turn the world into a lump of space charcoal.

The issue is that Truss, who grew up in Leeds, appears – like so many politicians – to be planning a future rise to power. Every event is made into a photo opportunity, every comment is frantically tweeted. The addiction to feeding the Meta echo chamber must be overwhelming.

During a time of world crisis, politicians should be made to hand over their phones and be banned from all social media. All comments and pronouncements should go through the Civil Service – one wrong word or threat could cause a catastrophe.

I accept that social media has played an important part in getting the truth of the Russian invasion of Ukraine to the world. However, in the hands of budding party leaders trying to gain electoral brownie points, it is a dangerous device.

The Foreign Secretary has to be held to account and, after the invasion of Ukraine is over, I hope we will see her demoted and slip quietly away onto the back benches.

At times like these it is only right that the use of social media by politicians should be vetted – the world stands on the edge of disaster and idle talk may cost millions of lives.

It is impossible to conceive Nato involvement in Ukraine. Any action would be a declaration of war against Russia, a war that would cost us dearly and a war that our army is ill prepared to fight.

Putin isn’t insane. He is a calculating and sophisticated operator who, like any rat pushed into a corner, will fight back. At his disposal, he has 1,600 nuclear warheads ready to go at a moment’s notice.

Oil has to be poured on troubled 
waters and peace sought as quickly as possible to save the lives of innocent Ukrainians. Inflammatory tweets and messages on social media made by our government representatives have to 
stop. If they really desire an end to hostilities they should be working earnestly and tirelessly to build bridges and give President Putin an honourable way to save face and step back from the precipice of a world war inflamed by Twitter and posturing by preening politicians like Liz Truss.

GP Taylor is a writer and broadcaster. He lives in East Yorkshire.

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