MPs moved seamlessly today from debating the breeding season of the hare to the situation in Crimea. It’s been quiet recently, but this afternoon the House of Commons chamber hosted one of its better speeches from Sir Malcolm Rifkind, who was bristling with a cold, disapproving fury. This crisis, he told MPs, wasn’t just a crisis for Ukraine, it was a crisis for every European country. And Europe was failing to recognise this, and failing to respond adequately, he argued.
‘For the first time since 1945, a European state has invaded the territory of another European state and has annexed part of its territory. The Foreign Secretary, the Prime Minister, President Obama, other European leaders have stressed, as has the Shadow Foreign Secretary, that this is a crucial moment in the history of Europe.
‘That’s fine rhetoric, but the rhetoric is only going to be justified if it is matched by our response to what is happening and what could still happen.
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