Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has torn into Vice President JD Vance’s claim that a Franco-British peacekeeping force would be just “20,000 troops from some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years”.
Speaking to GB News from today’s mass farmer protest in Westminster, Farage said the Vice President was “wrong, wrong, wrong” as he hailed how Britain “did our bit” alongside the US in Afghanistan.
He told the People’s Channel: “JD Vance is wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. For 20 years in Afghanistan, pro-rata, our size against America’s, we spent the same amount of money, we put the same number of men and women in, and we suffered the same losses.
“We stood by America all through those 20 years, putting in exactly the same contribution. And alright, they may be six times bigger, but we did our bit. On this one, JD is wrong.”
Farage hits out at JD Vance’s ‘random country’ attack as UK-US rift deepens
GB NEWS
Vance rushed to social media to defend his claim just before Farage spoke, calling criticism of his claim “absurdly dishonest”.
“I don’t even mention the UK or France in the clip, both of whom have fought bravely alongside the US over the last 20 years, and beyond,” he said.
However, excluding Australia’s recent potential support for a peacekeeping force, the only two nations to officially back the move are the UK and France.
The row erupted after Vance sat down for an interview on Fox News.
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JD Vance sparked fury on this side of the pond
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During the interview, the Vice President said: “The President knows that if you want real US security guarantees, if you want to actually ensure that Vladimir Putin does not invade Ukraine again, the very best security guarantee is to give Americans economic upside in the future of Ukraine.
“That is a way better security guarantee than 20,000 troops from some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years.”
Vance’s comments sparked fury on this side of the pond, with Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge labelling the remarks “deeply disrespectful”.
Ex-Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer described Vance as a “clown” who needs to “check his privilege”.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch speaking to a member of the media during a farmers protest in Whitehall
PA
Liberal Democrat defence spokeswoman Helen Maguire, who served in the army before entering politics, added: “Six of my own regiment, the Royal Military Police, didn’t return home from Iraq. This is a sinister attempt to deny that reality. Vance has demeaned his office.”
However, a Downing Street spokesman appeared to let the Vice President off the hook, instead suggesting Vance was “talking about other countries”.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch also failed to condemn Vance, instead telling GB News: I’ve looked at the comments; I don’t think he actually said that. A lot of people are getting carried away.”
Despite Vance’s remarks, British troops have been involved in a number of global conflicts since 1985, including in the Gulf, Bosnia, Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya.