NIGEL Farage’s stance on Ukraine shows he is a Putin appeaser, Rishi Sunak blasted last night.
The PM accused the Reform UK leader of “playing into Putin’s hand” and helping the Russian tyrant by claiming the West provoked the war in Ukraine.
AlamyNigel Farage was accused of ‘appeasing’ Vladimir Putin over his invasion of Ukraine[/caption]
PAThe PM said Farage’s stance played into Putin’s hand[/caption]
Last week Farage doubled down on comments from 2022, where he claimed the “ever-eastward expansion of Nato and the European Union” gave Putin the cover to invade.
Speaking to the BBC, he also suggested Ukraine should accept peace talks with Russia to find a settlement deal.
Speaking to The Telegraph, the Prime Minister said: “What he said was wrong, it was completely wrong.
“It plays into Putin’s hand. This is the guy who used nerve agents on British streets, he’s doing deals with North Korea.
“That is who we’re talking about here. This kind of appeasement is very damaging not just for our security, but the security of our allies that depend on us and it emboldens Putin further.”
The remarks have already hit Reform’s polling figures with Farage’s popularity among 2019 Tory voters slumping nine per cent this week – making him less popular than the PM.
And yesterday he admitted Reform’s polling had been impacted by “too many candidates who’ve said stupid things.”
It is the first time the PM has directly taken on Mr Farage after saying earlier in the campaign that he “respects” the Brexit frontman.
And he warned voting Reform could hand Sir Keir Starmer power for “decades”, adding his rival may “change the system” by handing votes to 16 and 17-year-olds.
Labour has denied it could also give the vote to EU and foreign citizens living in the UK.
Speaking about his own relationship with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Mr Sunak added: “I’ve spent lots of time with his team. I’ve been in Ukraine multiple times.
“The thought that we would somehow be withdrawing our support to them, that there are people who think that that’s a right thing to do, I think is deeply worrying.”
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Mr Sunak said: “What I would say is a Labour government isn’t just something that you buy that if you decide you don’t like you can take back to the shop and return it.
“It’s going to have profound consequences for you and your family, potentially for decades if they change the system to stay in power that long.
“So you should think very carefully about the choice at this election because it has consequences.
“I absolutely appreciate people’s frustration with me, with our party.
“But this is not a by-election. This is not a referendum on the last 14 years.
“This is a choice about the future. And that choice has consequences for your family.”