When Keir Starmer entered Downing Street, a few foreign events were arranged to glamorise his arrival. He visited a Nato summit and promised to spend more on defence. He pledged £3bn a year for Ukraine, apparently from his back pocket. He was a little reckless and said his talks with Joe Biden had happened “at pace” and were attentive to detail. But he said something else. He wanted to see British missiles for Ukraine fired deep into Russian territory. It sounded macho, but it was not Nato policy. The Ministry of Defence and Downing Street also later clarified that it was not current UK policy to allow such strikes.

Leaders should beware the unexpected. When Tony Blair entered No 10 in 1997, few could have imagined he would one day leave it under a dark cloud marked “Iraq”. Britain’s war in Iraq was dressed up – like Starmer’s missiles – as vital to national security. In reality it was a bombastic gesture intended to make Blair look good in........

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