Nuclear war 'possible' and 'could only be a few steps away', warns former RAF chief

15 March 2022, 08:41

Ex-RAF Chief says nuclear war is no longer unthinkable

Nuclear war is a "possibility" and "only a few steps" away from where we are now, a former RAF chief has told LBC.

Speaking to LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, Air Marshal Edward Stringer CBE said the possibility of nuclear war would be "weight on the minds" of world leaders.

"It's no longer unthinkable and it will clearly be weighing on the minds of those who are making all the political calculations at the moment, hence the very straight and consistent line from Biden and all the other senior heads of state recently," he said.

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He added: "It's in the realms of possibility, and that's what people have to get their heads around."

Air Marshal Stringer said you could "sketch a plausible chain of events" that may lead to nuclear war, saying it is "only a few steps to get from where we are now".

"Can he sketch a plausible chain of events [leading to nuclear war] - and you can," he said.

"That's only a few steps to get from where we are now to a confrontation that could see the use of nuclear weapons, which I think is a pretty terrifying prospect for anybody sensible."

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The Air Marshal said that was the reason leaders had been reluctant to impose a no-fly zone over Ukraine.

"That is why when there were calls for no-fly zones, the political leadership was quick to point out that Nato is a defensive alliance and Nato is not being attacked," he said.

"Nato is not constructed to go onto the offensive, if it did it would be taking on another nuclear power - Russia."