Boris Johnson has suggested Nigel Farage’s stance on the war in Ukraine is “extremely dangerous”, and said he had “serious anxieties” about Reform UK’s approach to national security and the economy.
The former Conservative prime minister said Britain must be “strong and determined” in its support for Kyiv, rather than sounding “morally equivocal about transparent evil” like the Russian invasion.
Mr Johnson also insisted the Tories would “come back” as the party flounders in the polls, and described Kemi Badenoch as “easily the sparkiest and the most intellectually original” of all current leaders.
Speaking to the Harry Cole Saves The West show, he said: “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 added that the “Reform gang” was “on record as saying that Nato provoked Putin’s aggression”.
He said he had “confidence in the Conservatives, and I have confidence in the energy and combativeness of Kemi”, despite a recent wave of defections to Reform UK.
The former Tory leader’s attack on Mr Farage’s party follows a series of former Conservatives, including Johnson allies, abandoning the party to join its insurgent rival in recent weeks.
Mr Farage has also sought to highlight immigration numbers under the Johnson administration, which he describes as “the biggest betrayal in modern political history”.
The Reform leader previously came under fire for saying that the West “provoked” the invasion of Ukraine in an interview during last year’s general election campaign.
He told the BBC at the time that “of course” the conflict was Vladimir Putin’s fault, but that the expansion of the EU and Nato gave him a “reason” to tell the Russian people “they’re coming for us again”.
A spokesman for Reform UK said: “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.”
The spokesman added: “He is in denial about his own record and desperately out of touch.”
