Former Head of MI6 Warns Donald Trump’s Reelection is a ‘National Security’ Risk For the UK

The former head of MI6, British military intelligence, Sir Richard Dearlove spoke to Sky News’s Trevor Philips about the major security challenges facing the United Kingdom and listed Donald Trump’s possible reelection as a “national security” risk.

“David Cameron said that there flashing red lights all over the globe, and I guess that they’d be turning to you at the end of one of those long tables that you see in the movies and saying, okay, Sir Richard, the year, big elections, we don’t know who’s going to be in power and so on. You’ve done your threat assessment. What are the two big threats that we ought to be paying attention to in 2024?” Philips asked on Sunday.

“Well seen from an intelligence perspective, the two things we need to worry about. Obviously, Ukraine and what China’s long-term behavior globally is going to be, particularly in relation to Taiwan and how threatening China is to Western interests,” Dearlove replied, adding:

But I think it’s important. But I’m not a politician. You have to add a political threat, which I’m worried about, which is, uh, Trump’s reelection.

After a long pause, he continued, “Which I think for the UK’s national security, is problematic because if Trump, as it were, acts hastily and damages, the Atlantic alliance, that is a big deal for the UK. We’ve put all our eggs, in defense terms, in the NATO basket. If Trump really is serious about, as it were, changing the balance, I mean, the American nuclear umbrella for Europe, it’s, in my view, essential to Europe’s security and defense.”

“We will see,” replied Philips.

“But I mean, that’s not an intelligence issue. This is a political issue. I was an intelligence officer, not a politician,” Dearlove added.

“Well, you’re an intelligence officer, but also an intelligent officer. And so I think we take that seriously. I tell you what we’ll do as we the primary season proceeds. We will come back to you and see whether you see those factors changing,” Philips said concluding the interview.

Watch above via Sky News.