Dan Wootton: Boris Johnson and Liz Truss must hold Russia to account - that matters

Some sanity is returning to the Conservative party tonight which is staring down relentless pressure from the establishment, the nightmare Labour/SNP opposition coalition, and the BBC and rest of the left-wing media mob to depose the Prime Minister at a time of great crisis and pressure for this country and the world.

That’s a very sensible decision, one I advocated for on the show last week and again last night.

Boris Johnson has failed on many counts, yes, as all Prime Ministers do.

But he must be given this opportunity to lead the UK out of the pandemic and deliver his manifesto in peacetime, when all resources are not focussed on battling a virus.

Today he took an important trip to Ukraine as a world leader dedicated to avoiding war and prepared to stand up to the Russian bully Putin.

Something Biden won’t do.

Something Macron won’t do.

Certainly something the new German Chancellor Olaf Scholz won’t do, with his pathetic policy of appeasement.

It was an assured performance from Boris – a former Foreign Secretary of course – alongside the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as he continued with his warning for Russia to step back from the brink and avoid war, as almost 130,000 troops disturbingly wait on the border.

But of course the first question the BBC asked was about - wait for it - partygate.

The PM is correct that this is a critical moment, with Putin poised to try and redraw the security map of Europe thanks to weak leadership, from the EU, from Germany and from France.

Much has been made by the opposition of the fact Boris missed a phone call with Putin yesterday because he was in the house dealing with Partygate.

Labour’s David Lammy moaned…

“Amid a dangerous crisis threatening peace in Europe, a vital diplomatic opportunity has been missed as Boris Johnson scrambles to hold on to his job. These are the real-world consequences of a distracted prime minister unfit for office running a government in disarray.”

Rubbish.

Firstly, Putin can wait. And he’s due to accept a call from Boris tomorrow.

And, besides, it’s the Labour party doing everything it can to focus on Partygate rather than the critical issues Boris is trying to tackle.

That’s why the government must stick to its mission of standing up for Ukraine, staring down Putin and ensuring the dirty Russian money flowing into London is brought under control once and for all.

As Liz Truss told Parliament yesterday the government’s planned policy changes would be the “toughest sanction regime against Russia we have ever had” and a “radical departure in approach since leaving the EU”.

Good. Boris and Truss must hold Russia to account.

That matters.