UK Independence Party (UKIP) Deputy Leader Paul Nuttall has told the European Parliament that the West must be prepared to work with countries such as Russian and China if it is to defeat the “real threat in the world today” – Islamic fundamentalism.

Speaking in Strasbourg today, Paul Nuttall told Members of the European Parliament: “We must not see foreign policy through the eyes of the student common room.”

“We must be grown up enough to say sometimes my enemy’s enemy is my friend, just as we did in World War Two with Joseph Stalin,” he added.

Mr Nuttall called for a “grand coalition of nations” that will include the major Western powers plus countries such as Russia, India, China and even Muslim nations.

“We must work together to cut out the cancer of radical Islamism which brough carnage onto the streets of Paris.”

He also called for Western powers to accept that Syrian president Bashar Assad is “not the threat to global peace” when compared to radical Islamism and Islamic State.

He also accused the European Parliament of being in denial about the root causes of the crisis, and compared their commitment to the Schengen agreement and free movement of people to British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s failed attempts to appease Hitler.

He warned that the policies of free movement were “placing the lives of our citizens in danger”.

Polish MEP Anna Fotyga asked Mr Nuttall whether it was really such as good idea to “appease” Putin, as allying with Stalin meant that much of Eastern Europe was left under communist domination.

Mr Nuttall responded: “You talk about appeasing Putin. Putin is on our side! The real threat in the world today is Islamic fundamentalism and if we have to do a deal with the devil we must do so to ensure we cut out this cancer in our society.”