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A bit more from our interview with ex-Nato chief Lord Robertson now. 

Earlier this week, the outgoing head of the British Army, General Sir Patrick Saunders, suggested British men and women could face a call-up to the army in the event of a war with Russia.

Sky News asked Lord Robertson if Britain could end up fighting Russia directly if Ukraine loses.

He said the alliance’s charter, which says an attack on one member is considered an attack on all, will “make sure that Vladimir Putin stands well off from there”.

But he added: “That doesn’t mean to say that he isn’t going to go in other directions as well. And ultimately, we’re going to be in the firing line.”

NATO ‘not threatening’ Russia

Lord Robertson said NATO was “not threatening Russia” and the alliance was “purely defensive”.

“We’re defending the freedoms that we have grown used to ever since NATO was created,” he said. “But we have to make sure that the whole of the population is engaged.”

He explained that conscription is “exactly the wrong debate to be having because conscription is not a good way of both setting out defences, even though some generals are now beginning to advocate that”.

He added: “Conscripts are not useful. Vladimir Putin has found that out only too well.

“So we’ve got to make sure that our defence expenditure is at a level that makes sense for the kind of threats that we might face in the future.

“If we’re going to defend Britain and if we are going to deter aggression, then we’ve got to have a robust defence of this nation.”