‘No b***s to defend themselves!’ BBC Newsnight viewers blast NATO over Belarus border woes

Watchers of the BBC’s flagship evening news and current affairs programme vented their frustration on Twitter last night after a Tory MP called on NATO to intervene in the Poland-Belarus border crisis. Tom Tugendhat, 48, joined Newsnight host Emily Maitlis, 51, to say: “In order to avoid a military answer, we need to make it absolutely clear any intrusion into NATO will involve a NATO response.

“This is the eastern border of NATO and let’s not forget what an extraordinary win it is for the British people that our border doesn’t start at Dover but actually it starts at the eastern and southern borders of NATO.

“That’s a fantastic strategic depth that otherwise our island would find difficult to achieve.”

He added: “We only get that by standing with our allies.”

One user, operating under the handle @bchrider41, said: “NATO became a lightweight after the COLD War.

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“You know, this is somebody who has invaded half of Ukraine and put a number of people into the most extraordinarily perilous positions in the Donetsk region.”

The ex-Lieutenant Colonel, who now chairs the Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee, added: “This is a leader who cares nothing for his own people.”