Nigel Farage cannot be trusted with national security, says defence secretary
Defense Secretary John Healy said he would not trust Nigel Farage with Britain’s national security after the Reform England chief refused to support sending British troops to Ukraine in the event of a peace deal.
The Labor secretary told the Mirror: “I wouldn’t trust Farage with Britain’s national security. A man who doesn’t support the commitment of British troops. A man who admires President Putin, who runs a party of Russian apologists.”
Mr Farage said last week he would vote against deploying UK troops alongside France if a peace deal was struck in Ukraine.
Mr Healy also touched on the party’s former leader in Wales, Nathan Gill, who was sentenced to a decade and a half in prison for accepting bribes from Russia while serving in the European Parliament.
He added: “This is a man who is a paid and hired employee of Putin, the leader in Wales.”
In 2014, Farage said he “admired Putin more than the ‘boys’ who run Britain.” GQ He said he respected the Russian leader as an “operator”.
Earlier this month, Sir Keir Starmer said MPs would have the opportunity to vote on the final number of troops to be deployed to Ukraine if a peace deal is reached.
Sir Keir said British and French forces would help train Ukrainian troops and maintain weapons stocks in a bid to deter future Russian aggression.
But the Reform leader countered that the plan would not work in its current form because only “two countries” – Britain and France – had committed a military presence in post-war Ukraine.
Clacton MP told Times Radio: “It would be a very interesting vote. I would vote against it. We have neither the manpower nor the equipment to go into an operation with an uncertain outcome… Frankly, that would be the modern-day British army on the Rhine. When we did that, defense was 5 per cent of our national expenditure and we were there for 50 years.”
Responding to his comments, Mr Healy said: Mirror: “Our British forces will always do the job we ask them to do. They will do the job to defend us, they will do the job to deter us. If we ask them to deploy anywhere in the world they will do the job. World. “I have no doubt about this and I have full confidence in them.”
A Reform spokesman said: “Reform UK is committed to increasing defense spending to 3 per cent within six years, much faster than the government plans.
“By then the British Army has neither the manpower nor the equipment to undertake a long-term mission. Nigel Farage was clear: a Reform government would protect NATO airspace against Russian aggression.”
