Keir Starmer told Nigel Farage to stop “fawning over Putin” as the pair clashed over the Ukraine crisis.

The prime minister was responding to a Commons question from the Reform UK leader about how many British troops may be needed to keep the peace if a deal to end the war is agreed.

Donald Trump wants Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy to sign a deal which would give America access to his country’s natural resources in return for some military support.

Zelenskyy was due to sign the deal last Friday before his spectacular bust-up with Trump in the Oval Office.

In the Commons, Farage asked the PM: “President Zelenskyy has now accepted that he’s going to sign the minerals agreement with America, and America’s going to put in $100 billion or whatever it is and thousands of Americans will be in Ukraine.

“Is that of itself enough of a security guarantee or does it mean that we need to send British troops? If we do, given the size of our army, how many?”

Starmer replied: “The mineral deal is not enough on its own. But can I just remind him Russia is the aggressor. Zelenskyy is a war leader whose country has been invaded. We should all be supporting him and not fawning over [Vladimir] Putin.”

Farage was criticised earlier today after he blamed Zelenskyy for the Oval Office row, which saw Trump and vice-president JD Vance accuse him of not being grateful enough for the military support Ukraine has had from the US.

He told LBC: “I think President Zelenskyy was very unwise to tell the Americans what would happen to them if they didn’t back him. Yeah sure, Trump and Vance bit back, but I think in diplomatic terms, Zelenskyy played it very badly.”

Shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel said Farage was “completely wrong”.

Posting on X, she said: “President Zelenskyy is a hero, who has stood up to Putin’s aggression and led his country’s defence against their barbaric and illegal invasion over the last 3 years - and it is troubling to not hear the leader of Reform say that.”