Farage should apologise after ‘unconvincing’ response to racism claims – Starmer

Sir Keir Starmer has said Nigel Farage’s response to allegations of racism in his youth was “unconvincing to say the least”, and he urged the Reform UK leader to apologise to people he may have hurt.

The Prime Minister claimed Mr Farage “clearly remembers some of what happened” and that he is showing his “true colours”.

His comments came after reporting in The Guardian last week, based on allegations from more than a dozen school contemporaries of Mr Farage, 61, suggested he engaged in alleged incidents of deeply offensive behaviour throughout his teenage years.

On Monday, Mr Farage was repeatedly asked by broadcasters whether he could rule out that he engaged in racial abuse.

“I would never, ever do it in a hurtful or insulting way,” he replied, later adding that if he had, it was “not with intent”.

The Reform leader then said that what could have been considered “banter in a playground” could be interpreted in “the modern light of day in some sort of way”.

On Tuesday, he released a statement that said: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been published in the Guardian aged 13, nearly 50 years ago.”

Sir Keir addressed the allegations as he responded to a question from Labour MP Luke Akehurst at Prime Minister’s Questions about Reform-led Durham County Council allegedly leaving working families £170 worse off after scrapping support.

The Prime Minister said: “The more we see of Reform, the more we see their true colours, in this case making people £170 worse off.

“But their true colours also in relation to the Member for Clacton (Mr Farage). His explanation in recent days, in relation to the stories about what he may have said in the past, is unconvincing to say the least.

“He says he never engaged with racism ‘with intent’.

“‘With intent’, what does that mean? Didn’t engage with racism ‘with intent’.

“I have no doubt that if a young Jewish student was hissed at to mimic the sound of a gas chamber, they would find it upsetting.

“He may want to forget that. They won’t. He clearly remembers some of what happened. He should seek those people out and go and apologise to them.”

Speaking to the BBC on Tuesday, Mr Farage’s former classmate Peter Ettedgui suggested the Reform leader was being “fundamentally dishonest” in his denials.

Mr Ettedgui, who is Jewish, also claimed while speaking to the broadcaster that Mr Farage had “repeatedly” approached him and said “Hitler was right”, while they were both pupils at Dulwich College.

Labour peer Lord Mann, the independent adviser to the Government on antisemitism, said: “Nigel Farage’s appalling attempt to shrug off serious allegations of antisemitism and other appalling forms of racism as playground banter is as insulting as it is unbelievable.

“Farage needs to do the decent thing and come clean with the British public about the full extent of his past behaviour and apologise to those who have bravely come forward to share their deeply upsetting and disturbing experiences.

“The British people expect all their party leaders to act with integrity and humility and are unforgiving of those who choose not to. Nigel Farage must confront the seriousness of this situation and apologise in person.”

Also in Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir claimed that Reform was “riddled with pro-Putin propaganda”.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said he was “alarmed” that the former leader of Reform in Wales, Nathan Gill, had been jailed for 10-and-a-half years after he admitted being paid £40,000 to make pro-Russian statements in the European Parliament.

Sir Ed said: “The Prime Minister said that Reform should hold an independent investigation, and he is right, but we both know that that’s not going to happen.

“So given Reform won’t, he must. So will he now launch a national investigation into Russian infiltration into our politics?”

Responding, Sir Keir said: “He’s right to highlight this very serious case, a long sentence for pro-Russian bribery in the Reform party at the highest level.

“You would think a leader of a political party would want to get to the bottom of that and ask the question, how on earth did that happen in the Reform party, and what other links are there between Reform and Russia?

“But no, the leader of Reform doesn’t want to do it, because we know he doesn’t want to know the answer to the question, because Reform is riddled with pro-Putin propaganda.”