Boris Johnson has slammed Nigel Farage as a threat to national security, claiming he had “serious concerns” about Reform UK’s approach to the economy and to national security.
“My concerns, and they are serious concerns, are about the approach to the economy of the Reform Party and the approach on our national security,” Mr Johnson told Harry Cole Saves the West.
“I think both of those will be severely tested in the years ahead, and people want serious answers and I think that the answers are going to be Conservative answers.”
When quizzed on whether Mr Farage was a threat to national security, he said: “I’m putting it in [diplomatic] speak right – I have serious anxieties.”
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 Mr Johnson’s administration, which he describes as “the biggest betrayal in modern political history”.
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Cabinet minister dismisses suggestions Andy Burnham could mount challenge for Labour leadership
A Cabinet minister has dismissed suggestions Andy Burnham could mount a challenge for the Labour leadership as “tittle-tattle”.
Housing Secretary Steve Reed told Times Radio: “I’ve seen this movie before. When we were in opposition, we used to hear similar things about Keir Starmer.
“That was before he picked this party up off the floor and led us into a record-breaking general election victory.
“Now our job is to get on and change the country.”
He added: “Change is what people voted for, change is what we’re going to deliver, and I’m not going to be diverted by tittle-tattle in the papers.”
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