Nigel Farage rejects allegations from ex-school contemporaries, insisting he never said anything racist “with malice” as scrutiny over past behavior grows.
The Reform leader declined to label his accusers liars, but lost his cool as he turned his fire on the BBC for grilling him about alleged antisemitic sentiments.
When the BBC questioned him about his deputy leader, Richard Tice, he grew more irate, claiming that the testimony of his old students was false and "made-up twaddle."
Emma Barnett of the BBC had earlier questioned Tice about Farage's "relationship with Hitler" in connection with claims made by a Jewish former classmate that Farage had told him, "Hitler was right," or "Gas them."
Farage responded by launching a diatribe against the BBC, calling it "despicable" and "beyond belief," and declaring he would not again speak to the channel.
He called Barnett one of the BBC's "lower-grade presenters," lambasted the BBC for airing shows from the 1970s and 1980s that would be considered racist now, and criticized the manner she posed the question.
“I cannot put up with the double standards of the BBC about what I’m alleged to have said 49 years ago, and what you were putting out on mainstream content. So I want an apology from the BBC for virtually everything you did throughout the 1970s and 80s,”
he said, referencing comedian Bernard Manning and the fictional character Alf Garnett, as well as The Black and White Minstrel Show.
He continued by reading a letter he claimed to have received from a former Dulwich College classmate who claimed to have never heard the Reform UK leader employ racial slurs.
The letter said:
“I was a Jewish pupil at Dulwich college at the same time and I remember him very well. While there was plenty of macho tongue-in-cheek schoolboy banter, it was humour, and yes, sometimes it was offensive … but never with malice. I never heard him racially abuse anyone.
If he had, he would have been reported and punished. He wasn’t. The news stories are without evidence, except for belatedly, politically dubious recollections from nearly half a century ago. Back in the 1970s the culture was very different … especially at Dulwich. Lots of boys said things they’d regret today or just laugh at. Whilst Nigel stood out, he was neither aggressive nor a racist.”
Farage refused to support Tice's claims when asked repeatedly if his accusers, including producer Peter Ettedgui, were lying and making things up.
When ITV questioned Farage about the accusations once more, he blasted the network for airing racist comic Bernard Manning.
When asked if his classmates' experiences of the alleged racist remarks differed from his own, Farage responded, "Recollections may vary."
Anna Turley, the chair of the Labour party, said:
“Nigel Farage can’t get his story straight. It really shouldn’t be this difficult to say whether he racially abused people in the past.
So far, he’s claimed he can’t remember, that it’s not true, that he never “directly” abused anyone, that he was responsible for “offensive banter”, and deflected by saying other people were racist too.
Instead of shamelessly demanding apologies from others, Nigel Farage should be apologising to the victims of his alleged appalling remarks.”
Farage "just called a press conference and used it to rant at journalists over historic allegations of racism and antisemitism – allegations he has just admitted are true," according to the Conservatives.
How might the allegations affect Reform UK support in current polls?
Reform UK's support in current pates is likely to remain flexible to the racism allegations against Nigel Farage, grounded on literal patterns where dishonors( e.g., MP dormancies, internal rows) have failed to dent the party's standing among its core kick-namer base.
Reform draws from disillusioned choosers( high correlation with 2024 putrefied ballots), who prioritize anti-establishment messaging over leader difficulties; patespost-March 2025 Farage- Lowe wrangle showed steady 23% support.
Recent YouGov data(pre-allegations) had Reform at 23- 25, with no immediatepost-allegation checks showing drops; 46 of white British choosers formerly view the party as" racist," yet support holds amid Labour/ reactionary unpopularity. Strong backing from" English identity" choosers, poorer health areas, and declining high thoroughfares (Midlands North) buffers against smears, as seen in stable youth/ overall scores despite once issues.