BORIS Johnson has been left red-faced after a clip of him predicting the end of tank warfare was over – just three months before Russian tanks invaded Ukraine.
The Prime Minister said the “old concepts of fighting big tank battles on European land mass are over” while he was being questioned by the Commons liaison committee in November.
The defence committee chair Tobias Ellwood grilled the Prime Minister on failed promises around the UK’s arsenal.
"The old concepts of fighting big tank battles on European land mass are over," said Boris Johnson last November, as he mocked the idea of armed conflict returning to Europe. pic.twitter.com/81uUyOcSDJ
— Adam Bienkov (@AdamBienkov) February 25, 2022
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The Tory MP urged the Prime Minister to “look at our defence posture and see what needs to be done”.
But Johnson insisted that modern warfare would be fought online and that the country should focus its attention on cybersecurity – a view popular with his former senior adviser Dominic Cummings.
Johnson said mockingly: “You’re saying we should send tanks to the defence of the Ukraine.”
Russian troops invaded Ukraine on Thursday morning, sparking the first major war in Europe this century.
Residents of the capital Kyiv have already begun evacuating amid fears of Russian bombs.
The UK introduced a raft of sanctions against Russian businesses and people yesterday – including freezing more than 100 accounts of individuals and firms linked to the Kremlin.
READ MORE: SNP urge UK Government to bring forward humanitarian aid to Ukraine
Angus MacNeill saw the session at the time and said the interaction showed how poorly “versed” the Prime Minister was on the risks in Eastern Europe.
He added: “It is glaringly unfortunate.”
MacNeill, chair of the Commons international trade committee, added the situation now “depends on the good sense of the Russian people”.
“They don’t war any more than the people of the UK wanted war in Iraq.”
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