Boris Johnson has blasted Nigel Farage as a threat to national security. The former Tory prime minister claimed the Reform UK leader is “extremely dangerous” on Russia, adding that he has “serious anxieties” over the insurgent party’s Ukraine stance.
He told the Harry Cole Saves the West YouTube show: “My concerns, as I say, and they’re serious concerns, are about the approach to the economy, of the Reform Party, and the approach on our national security. And I think both of those will be severely tested in the years ahead, and people will actually want serious answers, and I think that the answers are going to be Conservative answers.”
He added: “I think there are two real priorities for us now, the number one is the economy and making sure that we shrink the size of state spending.
“The second is defence, national security and the threat of Russia and on both of those, I have very serious anxieties.”
Pressed on if Mr Farage is a threat to national security, Mr Johnson went on: “Look at what’s happening in Moldova, right? Look at what’s happening in Estonia, in Poland, even in Denmark today, right?
“And ask yourself, do you want the UK either to be led by Labour who have a huge number of their grassroots, who are still basically pro-Moscow, Corbynista, right?
“Or do you want this Reform gang who are on record as saying that NATO provoked Putin’s aggression.
“I think what the world wants to save the West, what the world needs is UK leadership on this, and they need the UK to be strong and determined, and not to sound equivocal, morally equivocal, about transparent evil like invading Ukraine.”
He added: “We are going to need a Conservative government that is strong on defence and doesn’t believe to take a position at random, that the problem in Ukraine was that NATO provoked Putin. I think that’s extremely dangerous.”
Mr Johnson’s comments come after Mr Farage took aim at Mr Johnson in a press conference earlier this week over hundreds of thousands of migrants that came to the UK under more relaxed post-Brexit rules introduced by his Tory government, as part of what Reform is branding the “Boriswave”.
A Reform spokesman hit back: “The Boriswave was the biggest betrayal in modern political history. No wonder he wants to attack us after we exposed his terrible record in office. Reform UK will clean up Boris Johnson’s mess.
“He is in denial about his own record and desperately out of touch.”
