Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called on Nigel Farage, the leader of the Reform UK party, to urgently address multiple and detailed allegations of racist behaviour during his teenage years. This comes after the testimony of more than a dozen of Farage’s school contemporaries, including an award-winning director who claimed to have been targeted with anti-Semitic abuse.
The allegations paint a disturbing picture of Farage’s conduct at Dulwich College in the 1970s and early 1980s. Contemporaries have accused him of targeting minority ethnic children for abuse, singing a “Gas ’em all” song that referred to the killing of Jewish, Black and South-East Asian people, and burning a school roll in a year when there were said to be more Patels than Smiths.
Farage has issued a blanket denial, dismissing the claims as “one person’s word against another.” However, the Prime Minister’s spokesperson has described the allegations as “disturbing” and called on Farage to provide a personal explanation.
The response from political figures and experts has been one of concern. John Woodcock, an adviser on political extremism to the last Conservative government, said the testimonies reported by the Guardian appeared credible and that Farage’s response would be concerning to many. Georgina Laming, the director of campaigns at Hope Not Hate, said the revelations were “sadly no surprise” given Farage’s history of expressing anti-immigrant and intolerant views.
The allegations have also raised questions about the reputation of the Reform UK party on issues of race and diversity. Sunder Katwala of the integration think tank British Future said the claims bring into “sharp focus” the “significant” question of how far the party can be trusted on these matters.
As the leader of a party seeking to play a significant role in British politics, Farage’s response to these allegations will be closely watched. The Prime Minister has made it clear that the claims require a personal explanation, and Farage’s handling of the situation could have significant implications for his political future.
