FORMER foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt has called on the government to take fast - and tough - action in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The South West Surrey MP never got to meet Vladimir Putin in person during his 12-month stint as foreign secretary in 2018-2019.

And although Putin has warned of ‘horrible consequences’ for any country attacking Russia, Mr Hunt says the rest of the world cannot stand by while Putin’s troops carry out attacks in Ukraine.

Mr Hunt said: “We need to wake up.

“Putin wants to recreate the USSR and is ready to face us down as he thinks we won’t risk World War Three.

“The most successful international order in the history of humanity - which has allowed millions to live in freedom and lifted millions out of poverty - is under threat.

“This means a long-term strategy as well as a tactical response.

“The Cold War lasted 43 years, at the end of which democracy prevailed without a shot being fired.

“How do we make that happen a second time but more quickly?

“Firstly, economic sanctions are fine but Putin has already predicted and discounted them.

“What we do needs to be big enough to prevent the Russian state funding the Russian military. That means stopping buying $330m of gas every day from Russia, as the West did even without Nordstream, and shutting out Russian money from London.

“But given that Russia has $60bn of reserves, it will take many years to achieve. We need to be in this for the long term.

“Secondly, an effective military response is crucial.

“Direct combat between NATO and Russian troops is very risky and would be the first time there has been a military conflict between two UN security council nuclear powers. But that does not mean we cannot offer military support to the Ukrainians to make this invasion as difficult as possible.

“Ukraine needs to be a millstone round Putin’s neck, not a triumphant step towards the restoration of the USSR.

“Thirdly, and more challengingly, Europe surely now needs to match the 3. per cent of GDP that the US spends on defence.

“The UK’s integrated review was a step in the right direction but is now out of date.

“Surely the UK cannot be cutting the army at a time like this?

“If there is to be a global alliance of democracies to defend the rule of law, European countries need to show their willingness to step up in our own back yard.

“Finally, we cannot look at Russia and China separately. Both are deeply committed to upending the US/UK designed post-45 order.

“China will look at what happens in Ukraine carefully to gauge what the Western response would be to an invasion of Taiwan.

“But even on a grim day like today we should not lose hope. Authoritarian leaders always underestimate the resolve of democracies. We can be slow to get going but an alliance of countries with a shared belief in freedom will always have an unshakeable resolve.”

Earlier today, Putin warned “no-one should have any doubts that a direct attack on our country will lead to the destruction and horrible consequences for any potential aggressor.” He also said Russia had “one of the most potent nuclear powers and also has a certain edge in a range of state-of-the-art weapons.”