From the past. An unexploded World War Two bomb forces the closure of the Gare du Nord in Paris. The present. Russian missiles assail Ukraine’s energy plants. Eighteen wounded. The future? Will America sustain its historic role as the ultimate guarantor of European security? Put another way, is Donald Trump still a reliable ally of the United Kingdom?

Questioned in the Commons, the Prime Minister insisted, quietly and without emphasis, that he was. But is he? Others think decidedly not. Stephen Flynn, who leads the SNP at Westminster, said so in a BBC discussion. His colleague, Chris Law, made the same point in the House. Both, though, took pains to stress that they firmly backed efforts to sustain diplomacy.

The PM thanked the House as a whole, saying it was “speaking powerfully with one voice.” Which remains true. It strikes me, however, that there is a querulous, uncertain note to that voice. Not least because of President Trump’s volatility.

Read more by Brian Taylor

His prolonged address to Congress was a litany of his own achievements and triumphs. A blend of bombast and meandering anecdote. But the America First message was admirably clear. He would enrich the United States. He would put American interests front and centre. He would “forge the freest, most advanced, most dynamic and most dominant civilisation ever to exist on the face of this earth.”

The worry for others is that putting America First means utterly excluding the interests of nations who are supposedly allies. The concern is that the rise of the American Dream could involve a global nightmare.

I believe, however, that there may also be contrary indications. A week ago,........

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