The EU and Nato “provoked” Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by expanding eastward, Nigel Farage said, as the reforming British leader was criticized for a range of policies and beliefs in a sometimes offensive TV interview. challenge.
In an interview with BBC’s Panorama program on Friday night, Farage also said Brexit would benefit the UK economically if he were to run it, despite reforms that many have been criticized for saying offensive things. Send candidates “stitched in the most unusual ways”.
Farage’s belief in invading Ukraine and his admiration for Vladimir Putin have been called into question, with Farage saying he personally dislikes the Russian president but “admires him as a political manipulator” because of the extent of his control over Russia. “.
Regarding why Putin invaded Ukraine, Farage said: “In 2014 I stood up in the European Parliament and said: ‘There will be a war in Ukraine.'” Why did I say that? It’s clear to me that the continued eastward expansion of NATO and the EU gives this guy a reason… to say: ‘They’re coming for us again’ and to start a war.
He added: “We started this war. Of course it was his fault and he used what we did as an excuse.
The Conservatives, Labor and Liberal Democrats have long accused Farage of being an apologist for the Russian president.
Earlier this year, Rishi Sunak said it was “patently absurd” to blame the West for the war. “Russia has carried out an illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine,” the prime minister said. “I am proud that the UK has stood firmly with Ukraine from the outset.”
In a series of interviews with party leaders hosted by Nick Robinson, Farage accepted what he said was the transformation of the UK from “the world’s seventh-largest exporter to the world’s fourth-largest exporter” after Brexit. .
When asked why goods exports did not benefit similarly, Farage blamed net zero policies, saying they were “deindustrializing the UK”. On the economic impact of Brexit, he said: “If you had put me in charge, things would be very, very different, but of course they didn’t do that, didn’t they?”
Farage’s support for Liz Truss’ disastrous mini-budget was questioned at the time, and he praised the budget as having “a lot of pro-growth and pro-business stuff” while saying it was criticized for not including commensurate spending cuts. damage.
Asked about the Reform Party’s own financial plans, set out in the party’s manifesto this week, Robinson appeared unconvinced by Farage’s explanation of how the party would cut public spending to deliver massive tax cuts.
“Well, number one, we’re going to get people who are registered as unemployed to find jobs,” Farage said. Robinson replied: “It’s not going to raise you £140bn a year. You’re in I’m a Celebrity – you should be in Fantasy Island.
When discussing immigration, Farage repeatedly said people arriving in the UK could bring their mothers with them, but this was not the case. Asked on Net Zero if he still believed King Charles was an “ecological lunatic”, Farage replied: “He wasn’t the king at the time and obviously I can’t say anything bad about the monarch.”
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Robinson also questioned Farage over comments made by a series of reformist election candidates, including one who said the UK should remain politically neutral towards Nazi Germany.
The reform group has since accused a review firm it hired of failing to check the candidate’s speech. But Farage appeared to downplay the seriousness of many of the comments, saying: “We also had a number of candidates taken out of context in the most extraordinary ways.”
Robinson replied: “So, you can’t do a review but you can find £140bn of public spending savings?”
Asked whether Reform appealed to such people because of his views, Farage called them “cobblers, absolute cobblers,” quoting Martin Luther King and saying he believed in meritocracy.
Asked why he once praised Enoch Powell and criticized Rishi Sunak for saying he “doesn’t understand our culture”, Farage said it was simply a reference to the prime minister being “too upper class”.
