It used to be the classic jingoistic, sabre-rattling response to any insult by Johnny Foreigner, and now Gavin Williamson has tried to resurrect it: “Threaten our fisheries, will they? We’re going to send a gunboat!”

There’s only one problem: The UK is not the World power it used to be; we don’t have the resources; and in any case, firing on citizens of another sovereign nation is still an act of war.

So when Gavin Williamson suggested using the Navy to protect the UK’s fishing waters after David Davis and the Brexit negotiating team utterly failed to do so by diplomacy, he got exactly what he deserved.

According to The Sun (and I reckon we can accept this, because it is critical of a Tory):

The Defence Secretary said three new £116 million Navy boats, HMS Forth, HMS Trent and HMS Medway, would be the UK’s “eyes and ears” in the Royal Navy Fishery Protection Squad.

He proclaimed: “The Royal Navy has a proud tradition of protecting the UK’s coastline and keeping a close eye on our fishing waters.

“With these state-of-the-art, vastly capable ships we stand ready to protect our fisheries once Britain leaves the EU.”

The article went on to say an ally of Mr Davis said the Defence Secretary’s boasts about gunboats patrolling British waters were “madness.”

Apparently a Tory Minister added, “just as things were calming down, Gavin blunders in”.

With that kind of criticism from his own people, it seems cruel to add any from the general public – but let’s do it anyway:

After telling Russia to “shut up and go away”, Gavin Williamson should have known that he needed to keep his mouth shut. He didn’t.

He deserves all the ridicule he gets.

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