Britain is ‘defenceless’ without support of the US, says Farage

Nigel Farage has described Britain as “defenceless” without the support of the US.

Speaking to reporters in Merthyr Tydfil on Thursday, the Reform leader stressed the importance of preserving what he described as a “crucial” relationship.

His comments came after Baroness Eluned Morgan, the Labour First Minister of Wales, said the United States is “not the partner it once was” and urged the UK Government to halt involvement in the Deep Space Advanced Radar Capability (Darc) programme.

The Cawdor Barracks site in Pembrokeshire is expected to house the main UK contribution to the project, alongside sites in the US and Australia.

On Thursday, Mr Farage said: “What matters is not the relationship with Trump, not the relationship with Biden, not the relationship with the next president.

“What matters is the relationship with America, and I’ve always believed that without America, we are, frankly, defenceless.

“Just look at the farce, taking three weeks and one day, for a single naval vessel to go to Cyprus, and even that one’s now broken down.

“So, the relationship with America is crucial and I think what Welsh Labour is saying here is wrong.

“It’s ‘let’s say no to the Americans, we don’t like Donald Trump’ – well, think longer term than that, he isn’t going to be there in two years’ time, it’ll be somebody else.

“That relationship with America, on defence, on intelligence, on shared co-operation, is vital to the UK.”

The Darc programme will see a network of radars developed in Australia and the US as well as the UK to provide global monitoring of the skies, increasing the Aukus nations’ ability to track objects in space.

Calling for the project to be halted on Wednesday, Lady Morgan said in a statement: “The United States under Donald Trump is not the partner it once was.

“Talk of targeting civilians, undermining our allies, and diminishing the sacrifice of our armed forces is not the conduct of a reliable ally.

“I believe in international alliances, I believe in collective security, but there is a clear difference between standing with our partners and giving a free pass to a US president who has threatened war crimes and shown contempt for our country.”