Theresa May appeals to Nato for unity against terrorism
Prime Minister travels to Brussels intent on talking tough over Islamic State and US leaks of British intelligence
Theresa May has travelled to Brussels to appeal to Nato leaders for unity in the fight against terrorism.
The Prime Minister is set to add the UK's backing to a call by Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg for the alliance to join the US-led coalition against Islamic State.
At a summit in the Belgian capital today the Prime Minister "will also bracket Russia alongside terrorism as a shared threat that the military alliance must face down," says The Times.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Many of the bloc's members already play a part in the coalition campaign "but the formal backing of Nato in the fight against terror would be seen as symbolically important," says the Daily Telegraph.
"It would mean that the alliance would have a seat at the table in discussions about the campaign and would help to co-ordinate the assistance Nato is giving," adds The Times.
May was due to say: "A strong, capable and united Nato is at the heart of the security of each and every one of our nations.
"Our unity in responding to common threats is our most potent weapon.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
"We must redouble our resolve to meet the threats to our shared society, whether from terrorism or from Russia."
May was also expected to express her gratitude for the support of Nato allies following the "callous and cowardly" attack in Manchester on Monday.
There will be another issue on May's agenda – that of the consistent leaking of British intelligence to the US media by American intelligence services. In a speech before she left for Brussels, May said: "I will tell Donald Trump that intelligence shared between our two nations must remain secure."
While Nato summits are usually "pretty staid affairs, filled with pious speeches about the sanctity of the Atlantic alliance and polite grumbling over who's not pulling their weight," says Bloomberg, this year will be remarkably different.
"It's hard to overstate how serious this might become," the broadcaster adds.
"The leaks feel like a betrayal to the Brits" and Trump "hasn't helped himself" by "apparently sharing Israeli intelligence with the Russians last month."
The Times reports that the Prime Minister will "cut short her attendance at a second summit, that of the G7 group of the world's leading industrialised nations, because of the heightened threat of further attacks in Britain."
-
How the online world relies on AWS cloud serversThe Explainer Chaos caused by Monday’s online outage shows that ‘when AWS sneezes, half the internet catches the flu’
-
Leonard and Hungry Paul: ‘beautiful, heartfelt’ televisionThe Week Recommends Julia Roberts narrates this ‘charming’ and ‘unexpectedly profound’ adaptation of Rónán Hession’s novel
-
Inside The Peninsula, London’s first billion-pound hotelThe Week Recommends As the capital’s super-luxury hotel scene continues to expand, the respected brand is still setting the standard
-
Bailouts: Why Trump is rescuing ArgentinaFeature The White House approved a $20 billion currency swap with Argentina
-
Judge halts firings during government shutdownFeature A federal judge blocked President Trump’s plan to cut jobs tied to “Democrat programs,” ruling that his administration violated layoff laws during the shutdown
-
Trump nominee in limbo after racist texts leakSpeed Read Paul Ingrassia lost Republican support following the exposure of past racist text messages
-
‘France may well be in store for a less than rocambolesque future’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump begins East Wing demolition for ballroomspeed read The president’s new construction will cost $250 million
-
Appeals court clears Trump’s Portland troop deploymentSpeed Read A divided federal appeals court ruled that President Trump can send the National Guard to Portland
-
Millions turn out for anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ ralliesSpeed Read An estimated 7 million people participated, 2 million more than at the first ‘No Kings’ protest in June
-
Conservative megadonors build a new bank thanks to Trump administration approvalIN THE SPOTLIGHT With a Lord Of The Rings-inspired name, and the backing of some of the biggest GOP financiers around, Erebor Bank is set to make major waves in the crypto world