Ukip leader sides with Putin, Assad
BRITAIN: The UK Independence Party’s new leader says President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Bashar al-assad of Syria are ‘‘on our side’’ in the fight against Islamic fundamentalism.
Paul Nuttall, who took over yesterday from Nigel Farage after winning 62.2 per cent of the vote, said Britain has ‘‘got it wrong ... helping the so-called rebels’’ in the Syrian civil war.
Asked about Assad’s barrel bombing of Syrian civilians, Nuttall said: ‘‘Well, we seemed to keep Robert Mugabe in place for many years, didn’t we? I wouldn’t say we are some paragon of virtue when it comes to backing dictators.’’
The former history lecturer added that in many ways, he was ‘‘not a fan’’ of Putin, and branded the Russian leader’s treatment of journalists and many of his own people ‘‘reprehensible’’.
However, Nuttall said that in Syria, the Assad regime, which Russia is supporting militarily, is not ‘‘a threat to the globe in the way that Islamic terrorism is’’.
His remarks came after he drew criticism last week for saying that Putin was ‘‘generally getting it right in many areas’’ with his Middle East foreign policy.
While Farage enjoys a close relationship with Donald Trump, Nuttall appeared more circumspect about the United States president-elect yesterday.
‘‘I never backed Trump during the campaign, and I said that some of the things that he had said were appalling, and I continue to believe that,’’ he said in Westminster after his victory speech.
He added that he ‘‘wouldn’t personally cosy up to him’’ but predicted that ‘‘the special relationship can really thrive’’ under the forthcoming Republican US administration, given Trump’s pro-brexit views.
Nuttall is not the first senior Right-wing party figure in Europe to urge a rapprochement with Putin. Francois Fillon and Marine Le Pen, the French presidential frontrunners, agree on the need to forge an alliance with Russia.
Nuttall declared that his main mission was to replace the Labour Party in its heartlands, as he aimed for Ukip to win at least 10 House of Commons seats and more than a quarter of the popular vote at the next general election.
He said immigration, social mobility, support for the army, and an English devolution agenda would be the key policy areas, while Labour was preoccupied with ‘‘dinner party’’ topics such as climate change, fair trade and Palestinian issues, which he said were not the interests of workingclass voters.
Nuttall, an MEP for the North West England region, said he would offer Farage the position of honorary Ukip president if he wanted it.
‘‘I genuinely believe that I can grow this party, not just in terms of membership, but that I can turn 12-13 per cent to 26-30 per cent,’’ he said, adding that he had set a ‘‘double figures’’ target for the number of seats Ukip could win.
Farage vowed not to be ‘‘a back seat driver’’ but promised that he would be available to offer support to the new leader if asked. He said he intended to serve out his term in the European parliament until 2019.
After months of turmoil in Ukip, during which Diane James resigned as leader after just 18 days in charge, and MEP Steven Woolfe quit the party after a violent altercation with a colleague in Strasbourg, Nuttall branded yesterday ‘‘day zero’’ for the party.
Jon Trickett, Labour’s campaign co-ordinator, said: ‘‘Paul Nuttall has welcomed privatisation of the health service, arguing that ‘the very existence of the NHS stifles competition’. By electing Paul Nuttall as their leader, Ukip have sent a clear message that they pose a threat to our NHS.’’ - The Times