Nigel Farage has said he “never directly racially abused anybody” following claims he made racist and antisemitic remarks while he was a schoolboy at Dulwich College.
During a grilling over the allegation, the Reform UK leader told ITV he had never made racist comments as a teenager in a “hurtful or insulting way” or with “intent”.
But he admitted that he had said things as a teenager that could be seen as “banter in a playground” but could be interpreted differently now.
It comes after reports in The Guardian from more than a dozen Dulwich College attendees who alleged he had made racist and antisemitic comments during their time at the school in south London. One former classmate, Bafta and Emmy-award winning director Peter Ettedgui, 61, claimed Mr Farage had told him “Hitler was right” and “Gas them”, adding a long hiss to simulate the sound of the gas showers.
The Reform leader was challenged on the remarks ahead of a rally in north Wales where his party hope to win next year’s Senedd elections.
During an interview with ITV, Mr Farage was asked whether he had racially abused fellow pupils during his time at the college. “No. This was 49 years ago, by the way,” he answered. “Have I ever tried to take it out on any individual on the basis of where they’re from? No.”
Asked to categorically rule out that he had engaged in racial abuse, Mr Farage said: “I would never, ever do it in a hurtful or insulting way.”
He added: “I just entered my teens. Can I remember everything that happened at school? No, I can’t. Have I ever been part of an extremist organisation or engaged in direct, unpleasant personal abuse, genuine abuse, on that basis? No.”
The interviewer then suggested Mr Farage’s answer is “very very caveated” before the Reform leader repeated that he did not racially abuse his fellow pupils “with intent”.
“I have never directly racially abused anybody, no,” he said. “Have I ever misspoken in my life in my younger days when I was a child. Probably.” He added: “I have never directly, really tried to go and hurt anybody.”
He then added: “Have I said things 50 years ago that you could interpret as being banter in a playground, that you can interpret in the modern light of day in some sort of way? Yes.”
Asked then if this meant he had abused people, Mr Farage replied: “I’ve never directly racially abused anybody. No.”
He added there was a “strong political element” to the allegations.
It comes after Sir Keir Starmer called on Mr Farage to explain himself over the claims last week.
Political opponents were not satisfied with the response as he stood next to his party’s Senedd member Laura Anne Jones at a rally in Llandudno. Ms Jones has been suspended from the Senedd for alleged racial slurs.
Mike Katz, Labour peer and former chair of the Jewish Labour Movement, said: “Just when you thought Nigel Farage couldn’t sink any lower, he is trying to say abhorrent racist comments, including vile antisemitic insults, doesn’t matter. He seems to think that you can racially abuse people without it being hurtful and insulting. Let’s be crystal clear: you can’t.
“Farage refuses to discipline the racist views of his MPs and he won’t take action on the toxic culture within his party. He should finally come clean on claims over his past and apologise to those who bravely spoke out. Failure to do so would be yet more evidence that Farage is simply unfit for office.”
Labour chair Anna Turley also challenged him on the former Welsh Reform leader Nathan Gill, a close ally of Mr Farage, who was sentenced last week to more than 10 years in prison for taking Russian bribes.
She said: “Nigel Farage assured the public his former right-hand man was decent and honest before he was found to have taken pro-Russian bribes. Now he says he's as sure as he can be that there's no pro-Kremlin links in Reform UK."
Lib Dem president-elect Josh Babarinde MP said: “It looks like the mask has slipped and fact-of-the-matter-Farage is turning into no-answers-Nigel.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Reform UK leader said he was not going to sue over the historic racism claims “at this stage” but asked if that was an option being kept open, he said “potentially, yes”.
Mr Farage’s spokesperson said: “These allegations date back 45 years, and I think that at any point in time – when Nigel was leader of UKIP, when he stood in the 2010 general election, the 2015 general election, during Brexit, maybe in the 2019 general election – you’d have to ask yourself, why this hasn’t come up before.”
He added: “Nigel is very clear, there’s no primary evidence.”
Mr Farage was “probably mischievous” at school but denies the allegations made in The Guardian, the spokesperson said.
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