When this era’s history books are written, no one will be able to argue that Britain and its allies in Europe were not warned. It has been clear for two decades that Russia under Vladimir Putin is intent on expanding borders , subverting democracy on our continent and beyond to achieve its aims.

The alarm was raised repeatedly by nations that escaped Moscow’s repression. Yet even the invasions of Georgia in 2008 and Ukraine in 2014 failed to jolt the West from complacency as our political and corporate leaders kowtowed to the despot in the Kremlin, sucked on the teat of his oil and gas, brushed aside his atrocities and laundered cash stolen by his pals.

Last week saw another sorry chapter in this sordid saga . A public inquiry confirmed an obvious fact: Putin targeted a former Russia

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