# Farage appoints RAF wing commander as armed forces spokesman to rebuff claims he is pro-Putin

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/farage-appoints-raf-wing-commander-as-armed-forces-spokesman-to-rebuff-claims-he-is-pro-putin/
- Published: 2026-11-05T00:01:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-05T00:34:22+00:00
- Original publisher: The Independent (publisher lean: Left)
- Original article: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/farage-reform-armed-forces-angus-macintyre-putin-defence-b3079284.html
- Topics: Politics

## Key points

- Reform names former RAF wing commander Angus MacIntyre as defence spokesman.
- His Nato work included four years focused on support for Ukraine.
- His views on women in the forces differ from Farage’s past remarks.

## Summary

Reform UK has appointed former RAF wing commander Angus MacIntyre as its armed forces spokesman, seeking to show the party takes defence seriously and counter criticism of Nigel Farage’s past remarks about Vladimir Putin. MacIntyre recently worked at Nato headquarters and spent four years focused on British support for Ukraine after Russia’s 2022 invasion.

MacIntyre left the RAF Regiment last week after a 40-year military career, with service in several conflicts and deployments. Farage has described Putin as a “rational player” and said he understood the annexation of Crimea; MacIntyre, meanwhile, has supported women qualifying as RAF commandos, a position at odds with Farage’s earlier comments opposing women serving alongside men. Reform says MacIntyre’s experience exceeds the combined 31 years served by Labour MPs.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.