Nigel Farage is not a patriot, Sir Ed Davey has said.
The Liberal Democrat leader launched the broadside against Reform UK's Mr Farage as he opened the first day of his party's conference by setting out his stall on migration and "British values".
In a sign of how the party is attempting to take on Reform, the Lib Dems have set out proposals to close asylum hotels within six months by setting up emergency processing centres modelled on the Nightingale hospitals used during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Nigel Farage bad-mouths our country, insults our country, compares us to places like North Korea. He's not in touch. He makes things up. He's not a patriotSir Ed Davey
Sir Ed told Lib Dem activists that the party would campaign for "change" in tune with "British values" as he arrived in Bournemouth for their conference.
Asked by the PA news agency what he considered to be British values, the Lib Dem chief described "the vast majority of people who've got decent values, respect for the rule of law, tolerance, who love our country like the Liberal Democrats do".
“They want to see a party that is true to British values but will change our country,” Sir Ed said.
These people are worried that Labour and the Tories have "failed them" he said, while Reform UK "want to take us to be more like Trump's America".
Asked if he thought the Reform leader was a patriot, Sir Ed pointed to Mr Farage's recent appearance at a Washington DC congressional committee.
There MrFarage compared the UK with North Korea, as he criticised police actions against Father Ted writer Graham Linehan for his social media posts.
Sir Ed said: “Nigel Farage bad-mouths our country, insults our country, compares us to places like North Korea.
“He’s not in touch. He makes things up. He’s not a patriot.”
Amid a public debate about nationhood and migration, when the St George's Cross and Union flag have been raised in towns and cities across the UK, Sir Ed's party is seeking to offer its own vision of patriotism.
A crowd of Lib Dem activists waving Union flags welcomed Sir Ed to the conference as he led a marching band through Bournemouth Central Gardens.
He twirled a baton as he led Vectis Corps of Drums through the park, near the seafront of the south coast town.
The band, which came on the ferry from the Isle of Wight on Saturday morning, played brass renditions of pop songs including Sir Elton John's Crocodile Rock and Tony Christie's Is This The Way To Amarillo?
They also played Monty Python's Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life and the theme from the A-Team.
As they came to a halt in front of the Lib Dem crowd, Sir Ed and several of his MPs beat drums as the band played Sweet Caroline, a favourite among of England football fans.