Reform UK leader Richard Tice got into a heated exchange with Sky News host Trevor Phillips this morning over Nigel Farage’s past comments about Russia. The fiery clash came as Labour leader Keir Starmer visited Ukraine, calling for a 30-day ceasefire alongside other Western leaders.
🔎 Farage’s controversial past comments
Farage has faced intense scrutiny for saying in 2014 that he admired Vladimir Putin “as an operator, but not as a human being.” He has also claimed the West provoked Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by expanding the EU and NATO eastwards.
🤔 Dodging the question
Phillips pushed Tice on whether Farage would have made the same trip to Ukraine to support a ceasefire. Instead of answering, Tice pivoted, saying, “The important thing is you recognise that prime minister Farage is a possibility.”
Phillips cut in: “No, no, no –”
Tice continued, “Nigel, like all of us, wants peace. We want a ceasefire that gets us to lasting peace with strong security guarantees. That’s the reality. But we must always try, together.”
⚡ Round two – and three
Phillips tried again: “Let me ask you a different way – does Nigel Farage still think the West provoked Russia’s invasion and that Putin is a man he admires?”
“No, of course he doesn’t think that!” Tice shot back.
Phillips wasn’t having it: “Well that’s what he said!”
Tice tried to regain control: “The reality is that mistakes have been made along the way.”
As Phillips attempted to press the point, Tice cut in again: “Trevor. Trevor. Ask me questions, let me answer.”
With a sharp look, Phillips replied: “Richard. Richard. He said! He said that!”
📢 Final push
Phillips made one last attempt to get a straight answer: “You’re doing what you always try to do to me – answer your own question. Has he changed his mind about Putin being a man that he admires?”
Tice insisted that Farage is “crystal clear” that Putin is the aggressor, adding, “We all want this. Putin is an evil aggressor who has to be stopped.”
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