Walking into King Charles Street for the first time as Foreign Secretary last Friday, I passed the bust of Ernest Bevin.
Bevin was an inspirational Labour Foreign Secretary – and a personal hero. Proud of his working class origins. Firmly internationalist in outlook. And committed to realism, a politics based on respect for the facts.
Nowhere was this clearer than in his role helping to create the NATO Alliance seventy-five years ago. As Foreign Secretary, he was equally committed to supporting the nascent United Nations. But he recognised that “naked and unashamed” power politics would limit its ambitions. Establishing NATO therefore became central to his strategy for how to protect Britain and our allies against future aggression.
Moscow protested that this new grouping targeted them. But, while Bevin made every effort to engage the Soviet Union in dialogue, he dismissed such criticism. If that was how the Kremlin felt about a defensive alliance, it said much about their intentions.
Seventy-five years on, the wisdom of Bevin’s approach is as clear as ever.
Multilateral institutions like the United Nations remain indispensable. But they are struggling under the strain of multiple challenges. With a return of war to our continent and security threats rising, strengthening Britain’s relationships with our closest allies is firmly in the national interest.
NATO is the cornerstone of our collective security. Today, I am joining the Prime Minister and Defence Secretary at the NATO Summit in Washington DC. Our commitment to NATO and Britain’s nuclear deterrent is unshakeable.
The war in Ukraine has only reinforced the enduring centrality of NATO. But as in Bevin’s time, Kremlin disinformation about NATO’s role is rife. I am as dismissive of this as Bevin was. If Putin feels threatened by a purely defensive alliance, that says much about their own intentions. It is Russia that has ridden roughshod over its neighbours’ sovereignty and conducted assassinations on Europe’s streets. It is Russia that has walked away from its international commitments, leaving a trail of lies and broken promises.
As Foreign Secretary, I will do all I can to build on the great legacy Bevin left us. At a time of rising insecurity, we join our allies in marking NATO’s immense contribution to our collective security and renew our determination to invest in the most successful defensive alliance the world has ever known.
