Sharing our nukes with Germany would be madness

‘Utter and complete poppycock’: that was Viscount Montgomery of Alamein’s verdict on an US proposal in the 1960s for a multilateral nuclear force crewed by international Nato personnel. Famed for defeating the Nazis in North Africa, Monty didn’t mince his words about that plan. There’s little doubt what he’d make of the quiet resurgence of multilateral nuclear thinking.

Defence chiefs in Britain – including a former chief of defence staff and Nato secretary general – have been urging the government to consider sharing Britain’s nuclear arsenal with Germany, which has none of its own. This would, the officials argue, help to counter the threat that Russia poses to European security as well as provide a slight counterweight should the Americans seek to focus their resources elsewhere. Lord