A life peer’s question directed at the government has resurfaced – stunning the public with his comments.
Baron Peter Truscott, who is a petroleum and mining consultant, asked Baroness Goldie to clarify what reasons there are for believing that a thermonuclear war with Russia would be an ‘unwelcome outcome'”, much to the bemusement of people on social media.
In November last year, Lord West of Spithead warned about the implications of a nuclear war involving Russia, which has recently become a distinct possibility.
He said at the time: “The greatest risk to the survival of mankind is not global warming, it is an accidental thermonuclear war.
“One has only to look at the dreadful behaviour of Putin, not just around Ukraine but in a number of other ways, and his very loose talk about his de-escalatory policy of using a nuclear weapon should he be losing a conventional war, to see what the real risks are.”
“That would be a very alarming prognosis and a very unwelcome outcome, which I obviously hope can be avoided,” Baroness Goldie replied.
Lord Truscott
But Lord Truscott was clearly not happy with the answer and asked for clarification on the matter in a subsequent exchange last month.
He asked: “What are their reasons for believing that a thermonuclear war with Russia would be an “unwelcomed outcome”?”
To which Baroness Goldie replied: “It is difficult to envisage any scenario in which war, whether accidental, thermonuclear or otherwise, and irrespective of which other parties may be involved, would be a welcome outcome.
“Her Majesty’s government is committed to resolving issues peacefully and diplomatically wherever possible.”
Reactions
Dozens of people reacted to Lord Truscott’s question, with one Twitter user noting “the saying that there are no dumb questions doesn’t hold here”.
Another added sarcastically: “Hear me out: how about we destroy life on earth, see how it goes?”
A third noted: “Global thermonuclear war would kill billions and irrevocably destroy human civilisation, but it would also put an end to EU red tape, so it’s impossible to say whether it’s good or bad.”
“To be honest, I was actually in a similar mood to Truscott on my way to work this morning,” one person said.
Another added: “I’m trying to think of ways in which this is actually a subtle and clever question designed to do something interesting, but so far I’ve got nothing.”
Russia’s nuclear threat
This week, The Express reported that Russia’s exact nuclear arsenal capabilities “remain unclear”, as UK’s armed forces minister James Heappey warned Kremlin’s threats to Ukraine have brought Europe closer to war than it has been in the past 70 years.
During a press conference with French president Emmanuel Macron, Russia’s president Vladimir Putin said allowing Ukraine to join western-led military alliance NATO could lead to a war in Europe which could become nuclear.
“[Russia] is one of the world’s leading nuclear powers and is superior to many of those countries in terms of the number of modern nuclear force components,” Putin said, speaking about his country’s nuclear capabilities as compared to many European nations.
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