The world is “losing respect” for Britain following our weak response to the war in the Middle East, Nigel Farage has warned. He accused Sir Keir Starmer of leading “the least patriotic government we’ve ever had in our lifetimes”. The Reform UK leader said the contrast between the UK and France, which sent warships to the Strait of Hormuz in a bid to reopen the vital shipping route, showed “the humiliating state that we’ve sunk to today”.

And Mr Farage condemned “immature” criticism of US President Donald Trump, saying that while he didn’t agree with everything Mr Trump did, the UK was “lucky” to have a President in the White House “that actually likes us”. He said he hoped the war against Iran would end soon, but insisted the US and Israel had to continue their military campaign until they were sure Iran could not build nuclear weapons.

The comments followed a series of setbacks for the UK, including an apparent inability to defend a British military base in Cyprus when it was attacked by Iran’s allies. France sent anti-missile and anti-drone systems to the island.

British destroyer HMS Dragon left Portsmouth on Tuesday and began its journey to the eastern Mediterranean to join the UK’s defensive operations in the region. It will be the UK’s first and only warship in the region when it arrives in about a week, more than two weeks after the war began, and it appears Britain will not be sending an aircraft carrier.

French President Emmanuel Macron has ordered an “unprecedented” naval deployment to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a shipping lane vital for the world’s economy, including the country’s flagship Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier.

The UK was also slow to allow the US to use British air bases – prompting the US President to complain: “This is not Winston Churchill we’re dealing with”.

Mr Farage said: “My worry right now is that America as a whole is losing respect for us. And frankly, if it’s going to take two weeks for HMS Dragon to get to Cyprus, I think the rest of the world is losing respect for us.

“So it’s about time we started respecting ourselves, getting a government that was patriotic, put our British forces first … made sure our veterans aren’t sleeping rough on the streets while young men who come by dinghy are put in four star hotels.”

Mr Farage said that Britain’s armed forces were so run down that we had little to offer. He said: “We certainly don’t have the capability to offer anything of any value to the Americans or the Israelis. And by the way, President Macron is frankly showing the humiliating state that we’ve sunk to with his very decisive action and his intention to help clear the straits of Hormuz.”

He hit out at the Government’s efforts to evacuate UK citizens from the region, saying: “The other point is protecting British citizens. I think so far the government have hired one charter plane and even that broke down. It was 24 hours late.

“We can’t even defend Cyprus. Let’s not get ourselves involved in another foreign war … we don’t have a navy, we can’t even defend our military base in Cyprus.”

Mr Farage said Conservative governments must share the blame for failing to invest in defence. But attacking Sir Keir, he said: “I think this must be the least patriotic government we’ve ever had in our lifetimes. So we don’t have the soldiers anyway. Even if we did, I would say it’s no to boots on the ground.

“But the Americans and the Israelis will succeed in completely removing the nuclear threat from this very, very dangerous regime. And you know something, if they achieve that, that’ll be a very, very good thing for the world in my view.”

Defending Mr Trump, the Reform UK leader said: “He’s a friend of mine. I agree with many things that he does. I don’t agree with other things that he does. His style is not to the liking of many British people, but we should recognise we’re lucky to have an American president that actually likes us.”

And referring to calls from Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey for the UK to cancel a possible state visit to the US by the King, Mr Farage said: “I think Ed Davey’s idea that the King should cancel the visit to America. it is a really immature and stupid idea.”