Nigel Farage defends admiration for Vladmir Putin

Nigel Farage on the campaign trail on Wednesday

Last night Diane James said that she admired Vladimir Putin “from the point of view that he’s standing up for his country”, the fact he is “very nationalist” and because he is “a very strong leader”.

She said he is “putting Russia first and he has issues with how the EU encouraged a change of government in the Ukraine, which he felt put at risk and put in danger a Russian population in that country.

The Ukip leader, who has attracted critism in the past for saying that the Russian president is the world leader he personally most admires, defended her comments.

He told journalists at a campaigning event in Manston, Kent: “What she said was that he stands up for his country. He undeniably stands up for his country. But I think we’ve got to a point where he maybe poses us potentially a bit of a threat.

“Which takes us back to the defence argument. Why will no one else commit to spending just 2% of our national income on defence? It seems to me that it’s vital that we do so.”