Full throttle
TO defeat Russia, President Zelensky needs a hell of a lot more than his warm welcome from our King and MPs.
The Sun admires his certainty that a country fighting for its freedom, with right on its side, will beat a dispirited, shambolic invasion force sent by a tyrant.
3To defeat Russia, President Zelensky needs a hell of a lot more than his warm welcome from our King and Prime MinisterCredit: EPABut we can’t quite share it. Russia still has immense numbers to call up — and factories churning out ammo 24/7.
True, it has known little but death in the last year. But it will not stop. The next assault threatens to be enormous.
For all their bravery, skill and tactical superiority, the Ukrainians could yet be overwhelmed. That would be catastrophic for a free people — and for Nato and the West.
It is vital, then, that Ukraine is rapidly able to deploy UK and other Western fighter planes to counter Russia’s, bombard Kremlin forces and defend its own.
Does the West realise how pressing this need is? Zelensky does, as his spellbinding and historic speech to Parliament showed. Our Government must show the same urgency.
Ukraine must not fall. It is unthinkable. Give this heroic nation the jets that it needs — now.
Soft on jihadis
WHY was the Prevent counter-terror programme allowed to fail for so long?
Why has it taken so many years to determine that it was funnelling money to charities promoting extremism and even engaging with extremists?
3Ali Harbi Ali, the Islamist killer who murdered MP Sir David AmessCredit: PAHow was it allowed to become so paranoid about Islamophobia that it played down Islamist terror?
How, when 80 per cent of police counter-terrorism involves jihadis, did they account for only 16 per cent of Prevent referrals in one year?
This is an epic failure on the Tories’ watch. But at least Home Secretary Suella Braverman, who writes opposite, is grasping the nettle.
Prevent remains a key anti-terror tool.
But only if it puts ideology aside — and targets the genuine threats to our safety.
Labour fuels
THE bizarre attack on The Sun’s long campaign to freeze fuel duty perfectly encapsulates Labour’s gluttony for your money.
3A think-tank, advised by Labour frontbenchers considers it a ‘reckless waste of public money’ to keep petrol and diesel tax lowCredit: GettyThe Social Market Foundation think-tank, advised by Labour frontbenchers, considers it a “reckless waste of public money” to keep petrol and diesel tax low.
In reality freezing it each year has saved drivers a fortune over a decade. The SMF hates that. It reckons it’s bad for the environment and would vastly prefer that cash going to the Treasury.
To the Left, governments — presumably even Tory ones — can always spend your wages more wisely than you.
Labour keeps up appearances for now by backing a continued freeze.
Behind the facade, their policy wonks give the game away.
Story Credit: thesun.co.uk