I have no doubt that in a few weeks time British boots will be back on Middle Eastern sand. To topple an a unpopular leader? To educate women? To restore democracy? No. To protect everything this country stands for. Tolerance, decency and respect for others. And democracy.

Last week we had the hideous spectacle of a rapper from Maida Vale with a severed head in his hand. We see regularly see internet statements from those who have been brought up in the UK spitting venom at our hospitality. ‘We don’t want no democracy, we want sharia law and a Caliphate’. Ironically this sort of zeal is often from young men who have been drug dealers and gangsters who in a grotesque distortion of Islam want to atone in an Islamist version of Call of Duty. Except that this is not a computer game but deadly reality.

Sensibly there is a horror at Downing Street of serious military action after the Syrian Commons defeat. Perhaps some of those who voted or cowardly absented themselves from the vote may want to take stock of their consciences. One third of Syria is now in the hands of ISIS. And a quarter of Iraq. It won’t be long before they are storming into our important NATO ally, Turkey.

But these Hydra’s heads must be cut off now. We have to protect those states in the Middle East who deplore these savages who defecate their evil onto the Koran which condemns everything that they stand for.

The West is going to have to grow up and think beyond the opinion polls and focus groups. Cameron warned in the Sunday Telegraph today that unless we act ISIS will be on the shores of the Mediterranean. Yet they are here already. This afternoon I received and email from a friend who lives in Spain. This is what it said.
’We’re not sure whether to take to the hills, or repatriate to the UK, since apparently the Islamic, terrorist organisation in Iraq/Syria, is laying claim to Spain and elsewhere in Europe & North Africa as their legitimate, historic territories.

One of our local English-language, ’free-sheet rags’ has a special feature outlining the claim from ISIS

Moors/Arabs, invaded and took over most of Spain and Portugal from the invasion via Gibraltar in 711 and variously had as their capital city, at any one time, Cordoba, Seville and Granada. They set up ‘taifas’, or regions, one of which they named ‘’al Andalus’. Asturias, in the north, was never captured / annexed and the fight back against the muslims was launched from there. Isabel de Castilla {the modern ‘given Spanish’ language is Castillana} and Fernando of Aragon joined in political unity in 1492 and forced them south and out..

Now, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, head of ISIS {ex Al Qaeda and $10m bounty on his head} is laying historic claim to Andalucia and the rest of the Hispanic peninsular and France!!’

This is not hysterical nonsense. There are those dispossessed youngsters in the EU who share the same sick and misguided views as our own jihadests. They despise everything that we stand for. And given half the chance there would be beheadings in every town centre in Europe.

And here comes the irony. The man charged with steering our Foreign Policy is that Speaking Clock, Philip Hammond. He will be asking his admirable successor at Defence for more resources. This might be a problem. A senior official under Hammond at MOD told me that the chuckle bunny once boasted that he had grappled and succeeded with the greatest problem facing the department. He had balanced the budget. ‘But what about our capability Secretary of State?’
There was a deathly silence.

Well, if we are going to destroy the greatest threat to British democracy since Hitler George is going to come up with some serious dosh.