Ben Wallace is the Churchill of his generation – he deserves our praise

We blame politicians for being venal and self-serving, and not without reason, but here we have some cause to celebrate, writes Salma Shah

We are lucky with our defence secretary, he has expertise and experience, and is doing an excellent job (AP)

The invasion of Ukraine has drawn endless parallels with the last time a European power, suffering from low self-esteem, started to invade its neighbours.

Claims that our action is akin to Chamberlain’s appeasement and remarking on Putin’s Hitler impersonation is the rudimentary analysis we’re clinging to, with the hopes the outcome turns out the same: victory to the allies, freedom and democracy the world over. But in order for this to be true, we would also need to cast a Churchill. Step forward Ben Wallace.

The UK’s defence secretary, whilst important to us, is part of a bigger network of ministers and diplomats across the globe trying to negotiate a peace in these most testing of times. The British are bit players in this drama. We are making a contribution, significant in parts but very much in a coalition.