Salisbury UK Reform candidate defends calling Putin ‘very good’

A reformist candidate in Britain’s general election who described Russian President Vladimir Putin as “very good” has clarified his comments.

Asked about the remarks he made at an event, Julian Malins said the leader was a “good Russian president” but not a good man “in the Christian sense”.

Mr Malins was standing as MP for Salisbury, a town in Wiltshire where a woman was poisoned and later died after an alleged Russian nerve agent attack.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said he disagreed with the original comment but did not want party candidates being told what to believe.

Mr. Malins told on Sunday, at a sales event, that he met Putin, the Salisbury Journal reported.

“I actually met Putin and had a 10-minute chat with him and he seemed very good,” Mr Malins said.

Asked about the comments by BBC Radio Wiltshire, he said: “He’s a very popular Russian president – as such, he’s a good Russian president.

“It does not follow in the Christian sense that he is a good man, of course not.”

BBC Radio Wiltshire asked Mr Malins about his observations in the context of the 2018 Salisbury nerve agent attack.

He said: “The poisoning was an evil act, no doubt, and it caused immense damage to this city.”

The Kremlin has always denied any responsibility for the attack.

Talking about Russia’s invasion of UkraineMr Malins said Mr Putin must be involved in negotiations to end the war and called for “diplomacy”.

He spoke of the thousands of people killed and injured and said “the adults in the room should be negotiating, not escalating”.

“He is the president of the country with the largest land mass on the planet.

“It’s absurd to label him as a mean person we can’t deal with,” Mr Malins added.

Responding to the candidate’s initial comments, who called Mr Putin “very good”, Mr Farage said: “I don’t agree with that but I want a political party full of nodding asses who have been told what should and shouldn’t they think about? ? No, I do not.”

It is not the first time that the party leader had to address the comments made by the candidates.

Melksham & Devizes candidate Malcolm Cupis has described the women dancing in a music video in derogatory terms on social media, calling one a “nasty old woman”.

Mr Cupis told the BBC he stood by his comments.

He said of the video: “This disgusting performance should not be available to… children. It demeans girls and encourages misogyny in boys.”

Responding to Mr Cupis’ language, Nigel Farage said: “It’s not polite, but you have to remember something: we’re a start-up and we’re going to have one or two candidates who are a bit tough throughout the year. edges.”

“All political parties have these problems,” he added.

• You can see a full list of candidates for the Salisbury constituency Here.

• You can see a full list of candidates for the Melksham and Devizes constituency Here.