Nigel Farage hits back at ‘utter b******s’ Russia claims before warning Vladimir Putin poses huge threat

The Clacton MP was accused of saying President Putin acted because Crimea and territories in the Donbas were “Russian-speaking communities” and “would rather be part of a greater Russia than part of somewhere else”.

Russian troops illegally annexed Crimea in 2014 and later invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Speaking to journalists, Mr Farage said: “I never said anything of the kind. That is utter b******s.”

The Reform UK leader had claimed he admired President Putin, citing his ability as a “political operator”.

However, pressure mounted on Mr Farage after Reform UK’s ex-Wales leader Nathan Gill was jailed for accepting pro-Kremlin bribes.

Distancing himself from the remarks, the Clacton MP added: “Let’s be clear, these comments attributed to me about Putin are wrong.

“I said in that first comment, I don’t like him, I wouldn’t live in Russia. He’s a clever political operator.

“It’s almost as if you make any comment about an individual’s ability and you’re suddenly their biggest supporter. Never been true.”

Mr Farage, who admitted he remains fearful of the EU and Nato expanding eastwards, warned President Putin now poses a huge threat to the UK.

“I now think Putin poses a bigger threat to Western Europe and to us,” Mr Farage said.

The Reform UK leader is now hoping to set out his credentials as a supporter of Ukraine, with Mr MacIntyre pointing out Mr Farage would shoot down Russian aircraft invading Nato airspace.

Mr MacIntyre said: “I think we focus on what’s been said more recently, which is, if the UK was part of the UK coalition or an international coalition through Nato, then he’s already said we would shoot down Russian aircraft.”

However, Mr Farage’s rivals have long accused the prominent Brexiteer of being soft on Russia.

Ahead of Reform UK’s armed forces announcement, Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge joked Mr Farage was awaiting “final clearance from the Kremlin”.

Chancellor John Healey accused the Clacton MP of being “unfit for any political office in our country” while he was Defence Secretary, adding: “He’d rather lick Vladimir Putin’s boot than stand up for the people of Ukraine.”

Meanwhile, ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson claimed Mr Farage was “parroting Putin’s lies” ahead of the 2024 General Election.

Andy Burnham, who refused to extend a G20 summit invitation to Moscow yesterday, renewed the row over Russia’s role in the Brexit referendum last month.

The Prime Minister claimed the “clear answer” was the Kremlin had interferred in the campaign.

He added: “I think we’ve been too much on the back foot on that actually and we haven’t informed people sufficiently about the extent to which people are seeking to disrupt the political process from overseas.”

However, Foreign Office Minister Stephen Doughty was forced to clarify Russia failed to sway the result.

Mr Doughty said: “I don’t think they’ve succeeded in their efforts to undermine our elections.”

Mr Burnham is now looking to forge a new relationship with Europe and hopes the UK will rejoin in his lifetime.