Sir Keir Starmer dismissed an accusation he is "Nigel Farage in disguise" over his plans to slash the foreign aid budget to hike defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP to counter “tyrants” like Vladimir Putin.
Asked whether he was the Reform UK leader “in disguise” because of the similarities in his approach to that of the opposition party’s policy platform, Sir Keir told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday, 25 February: “Nigel Farage didn’t even turn up to the debate in Parliament today. Nigel Farage is fawning over Putin."
Mr Farage has previously said he "disliked [Putin] as a person, but admired him as a political operator because he’s managed to take control of running Russia.”
