...a new report by the Policy Exchange think tank urges the Government to withdraw from the Convention on Cluster Munitions and Ottawa Treaty on Landmines, which conflicts with British national security interests and those of its allies.

The paper states that the UK needs both anti-personnel landmines and cluster munitions to deter or fight Russia and has called on the Government to “lay the framework” for leaving the treaties, which would provide “crucial diplomatic support for our allies who would be on a future conflict’s front-line”.

In a foreword by Sir Ben Wallace, the former defence secretary, he writes: “Today, too many treaties have stopped serving the interests of their signatories – and have instead become tools for our adversaries to use to their advantage. Unless these treaties can be updated to reflect modern security imperatives, we must leave them.”

Perhaps he was referring to the Minsk agreements that became a tool for the EU to use to their advantage to train and rearm the Ukraine during their civil war following the 2013 coup?

But whatever...it's quite obvious that the main reason that these UK NIMBYs can even contemplate leaving these treaties is because there is only a very remote possibility that either AP landmines or cluster munitions will actually be used by an enemy on UK soil to kill UK civilians.

So if use of these munitions is 'not in my backyard' (NIMBY), then who really cares about their use somewhere far from the UK where it is the children in these far-off places who risk being killed or maimed by all those unexploded munitions left behind.

As Sir Ben knows full well - or at least one hopes he does - if Russia was going to 'fight' the UK seriously then landmines and cluster munitions would be a long way down the list of weaponry they would be using first.

The UK still seems to be dreaming that in any 'fight' with Russia, they would have total air superiority and be up against an enemy like the Iraqis, ISIS or the Taliban.

Dream on Sir Ben.