David Blair

David Blair

Chief Foreign Affairs Commentator

David Blair was a foreign correspondent for nearly 20 years, reporting from 60 countries across Africa, Asia and the Middle East. He then joined the Foreign Office and later No10, where he wrote speeches and advised three Foreign Secretaries and one Prime Minister. He returned to The Telegraph as Chief Foreign Affairs Commentator in 2025

Trump’s critics said he would abandon the world. He’s proved them wrong

The unpredictable president has shown himself capable of foreign policy achievements that eluded his predecessors

David Blair 1 Nov 2025, 6:00am

The motorway that could save Nato from Putin’s aggression

If Russian tanks enter Poland and Lithuania, the upgraded Via Baltica highway will play a key role in delivering defensive reinforcements

David Blair 27 Oct 2025, 6:00am
How the UN became a ‘theatre for posturing’

Once a force for good that enjoyed a ‘golden age’, the United Nations marks 80 years with its reputation now in peril

David Blair 24 Oct 2025, 6:00am
It could be the costliest phone call in history. Putin is paying the price

Lavrov-Rubio conversation triggered Trump’s most dizzying and strategically significant U-turn yet

David Blair 23 Oct 2025, 1:18pm

Britain does not know how to engage with hostile nations

Our relationship with China constitutes naïveté of the highest order

David Blair 19 Oct 2025, 11:30am
If Hamas is dragged into a gang war, Gaza risks descending into anarchy

A brutal power struggle has begun and the outcome will shape the Palestinian territory’s future far more than any ceasefire agreement

David Blair 14 Oct 2025, 7:00pm
The battle for the future of the world has begun

The system of global free trade from which Britain prospered is being torn to shreds by the two biggest economies on Earth

David Blair 12 Oct 2025, 5:10pm
Could Britain survive a Russia-style drone onslaught?

Plus: After two years of bloodshed — can Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan really hold?

Venetia Rainey 10 Oct 2025, 9:27am
Britain is now so dependent on China we dare not call it an enemy

From net zero to our universities, successive prime ministers have left us at the mercy of Beijing’s ruthless communist regime

David Blair 6 Oct 2025, 5:32pm
‘Paralysed’ Europe needs a modern Churchill, warns former Ukrainian PM

EU leaders need to invoke the spirit of Britain’s great wartime leader against the tyranny of Putin, says Arseniy Yatsenyuk

David Blair 3 Oct 2025, 7:41pm

Putin’s new tactics are blurring the red line between war and peace

Russia’s shadow fleet is playing a deadly game as it pushes Nato to the brink of all-out conflict

David Blair 2 Oct 2025, 4:14pm
Nigel Farage has a Russia problem

The leader of Reform has a long history of being swayed by Putin’s propaganda

David Blair 2 Oct 2025, 2:32pm
Tony Blair can’t stop himself chasing the holy grail of Middle East peacemaking

With a key role in Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza, it’s clear the former PM will never willingly leave global politics behind

David Blair 30 Sep 2025, 8:28pm
Trump is endangering all of us through his weakness against Russia

You can fete the Donald, you can flatter him, you can even outspend him on defence. But you cannot stop him from being what he is

David Blair 22 Sep 2025, 5:37pm
‘It’s not a pretty picture’: Why the UN is in crisis

Plus: Western countries are recognising the state of Palestine but the two-state solution is already dead

Venetia Rainey 22 Sep 2025, 4:49pm
Starmer’s Middle East madness: Why recognising Palestine is the ultimate in fantasy politics

The Prime Minister is so wrapped up in the two-state solution that he’s lost sight of what makes it virtually impossible

David Blair 21 Sep 2025, 5:08am
Starmer, foreign leaders love Britain for our pomp, not wokery

Trump is not the only head of state awed by our monarchy, Armed Forces, history, and traditions

David Blair 16 Sep 2025, 7:00am
Trump’s incompetence has created the conditions for more bloodshed

Putin’s appetite for risk and his willingness to test Nato have clearly increased

David Blair 10 Sep 2025, 10:35am
A single missile has exposed the weakness of Qatar

Not even huge gas wealth or the supposed protection of a superpower can buy permanent immunity from the realities of global politics

David Blair 9 Sep 2025, 5:58pm
How the highest criminal court in the world is facing its gravest crisis yet

Claims of ‘moral bankruptcy’, misconduct and pressure from Donald Trump have created a perfect storm for the International Criminal Court

David Blair 6 Sep 2025, 3:00pm
Farewell David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary who chose to be irrelevant

If anyone writes a book on Lammy the outcome is unlikely to be a doorstopper, let alone a blockbuster

David Blair 5 Sep 2025, 7:40pm
Trump’s peace deal has now gone full circle

After nearly eight months of sound and fury from US president and frenzied diplomacy from European allies, we are back where we started

David Blair 5 Sep 2025, 3:12pm