Keir Starmer "hates Britain" and his claims to be a patriot are "a joke", former Prime Minister Liz Truss said. She hit out at the Prime Minister after Sir Keir claimed Labour were the "patriotic party" and claimed he supported flying the England flag.
In an explosive interview, Ms Truss said: "Keir Starmer lecturing people about people being unpatriotic is a joke. He comes from the strand of left wing thinking that hates our country, that loves international institutions like the UN, international law, the EU. That is Starmer. He hates our country."
Speaking to the Daily Expresso news show, Ms Truss added: "He comes from a long line of the left that think that way."
Sir Keir has accused Reform UK leader Nigel Farage of being "unpatriotic" and "badmouthing" Britain by telling a US Congressional committee that free speech is being undermined in the UK.
But Ms Truss said incidents such as the arrest of Father Ted writer Graham Linehan, who has detained by five armed officers at Heathrow Airport over comments made on X, showed that the threat to free speech was real. The Metropolitan Police eventually announced no further action would be taken against the comedian.
She said people in other countries "are horrified by what's going on in Britain".
Ms Truss said: "People overseas think 'what the hell is going on in Britiain? Why are comedians arrested at the airport?'
"It's Soviet Union stuff. It's completely nuts."
And she said the UK could learn lessons from the US, where Donald Trump had fought against the spread of authoritarian ideology.
"I think we need America's help. I think we have lost our way as a country. They, with the Trump revolution, have found a new path ... I want their help. I am not ashamed about asking them."
Ms Truss said that since leaving Number 10 she had taken up golf and was a fan of TV show The Traitors, but she has also carried out a number of visits to overseas countries including the US. Asked by Daily Expresso host JJ Anisiobi, she did not rule out a return to front-line politics.
Sir Keir has attempted to portray Labour as the party of "patriotic renewal" and claimed in a September speech that Reform UK, the Conservatives and the SNP want "Britain to fail".
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