Nigel Farage mentioned the late Queen Elizabeth II's meetings with Russian President Putin as he defended his anti-immigration Reform UK party against allegations that it is “riddled with pro-Putin propaganda” .
During a budget-day press conference, he said "The Prime Minister at PMQs today said Reform is riddled with pro-Putin propaganda. What's your response? Why don't you order an investigation, given what happened with Nathan Gill last week?”
Nigel said: “Well, the Putin stuff's nonsense. Just because I said in 2013 that I admired him as a political operator, but didn't like him as a human being before the Ukrainian invasion, I'm a Putin supporter?
“By the way, the Queen met Putin after I'd said that. Whether she was a Putin sympathiser, perhaps you'd better ask the Prime Minister, I don't know.”
Queen Elizabeth II, the late mother King Charles III, met the Russian leader on several occasions as part of royal duties.
The late Queen met Putin 2000 at Windsor Castle during the Putin's first visit to the West as Russia’s president.
She later hosted him during the 2003 state visit to the United Kingdom, where she formally welcomed him to Buckingham Palace and attended a state banquet in his honour.
They met again in France in 2014 at events marking the 70th anniversary of D-Day, months after Russia annexed Crimea.
Nigel Farage and his populist party have long been accused of flirting with racism, something which both have denied.
The party, which is leading in opinion polls, has kicked out some members for unacceptable comments.
