'More Chamberlain than Churchill': Rishi Sunak blasts Nigel Farage for blaming West for Russia's Ukraine invasion

After the British hard-right leader Nigel Farage blamed the West for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has compared him to the World War II-era British leader Neville Chamberlain.

Chamberlain, who was the PM of UK (1937-40), has been condemned over the decades over his policy of appeasing and accommodating Nazi German ruler Adolf Hitler with the doomed hope of avoiding a wider war in Europe.

Sunak has accused Farage of similar appeasement of Russian President Vladimir Putin and has said he is playing into his hands.

“This kind of appeasement is dangerous for Britain’s security, and for the security of our allies who rely on us, and will only embolden Putin further,” said Sunak to The Sun on Sunday newspaper.

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Echoing the remarks of former Conservative Secretary of Defence Ben Wallace and drawing a parallel between Chamberlain and Farage, Sunak added, “Ben Wallace was right when he said Nigel is more Chamberlain than Churchill.

Chamberlain, as part of his appeasement and accommodative policy towards Hitler, struck a deal with a Nazi Germany that allowed Germans to invade Czechoslovakia in return of “peace in our time”. The deal eventually failed and Winston Churchill took over the government thereafter as the prime minister who has since been hailed as an icon for his leadership during the World War II.

‘Dangerous for British security’

Sunak said that the appeasement of Putin by the likes of Farage is “dangerous” for the security of the United Kingdom.

Recalling crimes that Russia is accused of on British soil, such as the nerve agent poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal, Sunak said that appeasement of such a a country and its leader will only empower them.

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“This is a man who deployed nerve agents on the streets of Britain and is doing deals with countries like North Korea. This kind of appeasement is dangerous for Britain’s security, and for the security of our allies who rely on us, and will only embolden Putin further,” said Sunak to The Sun.

What did Nigel Farage say?

Farage had said that the West had provoked Russia into attacking Ukraine.

This is the line that Russia has peddled since the invasion of Ukraine and has been popular among the sections of Europe’s far-right which has surged in popularity in recent years.

In an interview with the BBC, Farage stood by a previous tweet that the Russian invasion of Ukraine was a “consequence of EU and NATO expansion”.

Doubling down on his stand, Farage said, “Why did I say that? It was obvious to me that the ever-eastward expansion of NATO and the European Union was giving this man [Putin] a reason to his Russian people to say they’re coming for us again, and to go to war. We’ve provoked this war – of course it’s his fault – he’s used what we’ve done as an excuse.”

Sunak was joined by the Labour Party’s leader Sir Keir Starmer in condemnation of Farage. Karmer said that every person aspiring to be a British MP must acknowledge Putin as the aggressor of the Ukraine conflict. He dubbed Farage’s stand as “disgraceful”.

“Anyone who is standing for Parliament ought to be really clear that Russia is the aggressor, Putin bears responsibility, and that we stand with Ukraine, as we have done from the beginning of this conflict. Parliament has spoken with one voice on this since the beginning of the conflict,” said Karmer.