Sunak accuses Farage of appeasing Putin

Nigel Farage's claim the West provoked Russia's invasion of Ukraine was "completely wrong and only plays into Putin's hands," Rishi Sunak has said.

The prime minister accused the Reform UK leader of “appeasement” that was “dangerous for Britain’s security”.

In a BBC Panorama interview, Mr Farage said that "of course" the war was President Vladimir Putin's fault.

But he added that the expansion of the EU and Nato gave Mr Putin a "reason" to tell the Russian people "they're coming for us again".

His remarks have prompted criticism from across the political spectrum.

Labour's shadow defence secretary John Healey said they made the Reform UK leader "unfit for any political office in our country, let alone leading a serious party in Parliament."

Former Conservative defence secretary Ben Wallace described Mr Farage as "pub bore", who did not understand the "real world" of politics.

Speaking on an election campaign visit in London, Mr Sunak said: "What he (Mr Farage) said was completely wrong and only plays into Putin's hands."

He added: "This is a man (Mr Putin) who deployed nerve agent on the streets of Britain, who is doing deals with countries like North Korea, and this kind of appeasement is dangerous for Britain's security, the security of our allies that rely on us, and only emboldens Putin further."

In his Panorama interview, the former UKIP and Brexit Party leader was asked by Nick Robinson about his past comments on Mr Putin.

"I said I disliked him as a person, but I admired him as a political operator because he's managed to take control of running Russia," he replied.

He said it had been "obvious" to him for many years "that the ever-eastward expansion of Nato and the European Union was giving this man a reason to his Russian people to say, 'They're coming for us again' and to go to war".

Pressed further, he added: "We provoked this war. It's, you know, of course it's his fault - he's used what we've done as an excuse."

After the interview aired on Friday, Mr Farage, a former member of the European Parliament, said on X that he was "one of the few figures that have been consistent and honest about the war with Russia".

Alongside the new statement, he reposted a speech in the European Parliament from 2014 in which he called for the West to "stop playing war games with Putin."

The Ukrainian presidency has told the BBC it will not be putting out an official statement on Mr Farage’s comments.

But a source in the presidential office warned about the "virus of Putinism and the rise of war propaganda", adding: "The task of civilized humanity is to fight this virus in the bud.”

Reform UK has been gaining ground on the Conservatives in the opinion polls since Mr Farage announced he was returning to front-line politics as the party's leader shortly after the general election campaign got under way.

He has said his aim is for Reform to replace the Conservatives as the official opposition to Labour, which he says is certain to gain power on 4 July, although polling suggests the party may win only handful of seats at this election.