Sir Keir Starmer has called on Nigel Farage to explain accusations made by people who went to school with the Reform leader that he displayed racist behaviour when he was a teenager.
Former schoolmates of the young Mr Farage told The Guardian that he displayed offensive behaviour during his time at a top public school, including giving Nazi salutes and making racial slurs.
The Clacton MP has denied the allegations, saying the paper was trying to smear his party. His spokesperson said he could take legal action over the claims.
But the prime minister has pressured Mr Farage in the Commons to answer the “disturbing allegations” made about his behaviour while he was at Dulwich College as a teenager.
Responding to a question from Reform’s Lee Anderson at PMQs on Wednesday, Sir Keir said: “Last week his leader said he didn’t have time to condemn the racist comments of his fellow MP [Sarah Pochin]. He also said he didn’t have time to condemn his party [for] calling children in care ‘evil’.
“I wonder if he could ask his leader, next door to him, whether he’s got time for his explanation for the stories in today’s papers.”
Sir Keir’s spokesperson also said it is “vital” that Farage “urgently explains himself”.
“These are disturbing allegations and it’s vital that Nigel Farage urgently explains himself,” she said. “You’ve heard the prime minister speak just this week about Farage’s weakness in the face of divisive politics in Reform’s ranks.
“He’s still not condemned the language or taken action against one of his MPs’ racist comments; [he] refused to condemn them when asked last week. Reform is dragging our politics into a dark place.”
One former student of Dulwich College in south London told The Guardian he felt humiliated by the antisemitic words of the then 13-year-old Mr Farage, who allegedly also urged pupils of overseas heritage to “go home”.
Peter Ettedgui, now an award-winning director and producer, told the paper: “He would sidle up to me and growl: ‘Hitler was right,’ or ‘Gas them,’ sometimes adding a long hiss to simulate the sound of the gas showers.”
He added: “I wasn’t his only target. I’d hear him calling other students ‘P***’ or ‘w**’, and urging them to ‘go home’. I tried to ignore him, but it was humiliating. It was shaming.”
Mr Ettedgui said Mr Farage could suddenly become “charming”, adding: “I’d like to know why he’s never owned up or shown the slightest contrition.”
In legal letters to The Guardian, Mr Farage questioned the public interest in reporting historic allegations.
His 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.”
They added: “Nigel is very clear, there’s no primary evidence.”
A second pupil from a minority ethnic background claimed that, when Mr Farage was 17, he asked where the pupil was from and pointed away, saying: “That’s the way back.”
Professor Dave Edmonds, 61, another Jewish ex-pupil, told The Guardian he had a strong memory of Mr Farage using “the w-word for what we now call people of Afro-Caribbean origin and the p-word for those of South Asian origin”.
He added: “I don’t remember being on the receiving end of antisemitic remarks, though of course he made outrageous comments about the war. I don’t think Jews were his main racial preoccupation. He was generally obsessed, as he is now, with the erosion of Britishness.”
But some pupils told The Guardian only that Mr Farage was bumptious, rude, provocative and enjoyed being the centre of attention, insisting that they did not remember him using racist language.
A spokesperson for Reform UK said: “These allegations are entirely without foundation. The Guardian has produced no contemporaneous record or corroborating evidence to support these disputed recollections from nearly 50 years ago.
“It is no coincidence that this newspaper seeks to discredit Reform UK – a party that has led in over 150 consecutive opinion polls, and whose leader bookmakers now have as the favourite to be the next prime minister.
“We fully expect these cynical attempts to smear Reform, and mislead the public, to intensify further as we move closer to the next election.”
