International Security Professor David J Galbreath, who teaches at the University of Bath, was commenting on a new study by the Pew Research Centre into public views of the NATO alliance.

Writing on the Conversation website, Galbreath said: “The majority of people in the UK and most other European members of NATO say they no longer support the key principle of the alliance: namely that an armed attack on one must be regarded as an attack on all. “This illustrates in no uncertain terms the differences between many governments and the societies they serve.”