Farage insists he did not racially abuse fellow pupils after interview questions

Nigel Farage has said he “categorically” did not racially abuse his fellow pupils at a top private school.

The Reform UK leader made his remarks in a statement released the day after an interview in which he left open the possibility that he may have made racist remarks without “intent”.

Reporting in the Guardian last week, based on allegations from more than a dozen school contemporaries of Mr Farage, 61, suggested the Reform leader 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”.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Mr Farage sought to directly address the allegations.

He 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.

“Isn’t it interesting: I am probably the most scrutinised figure in British politics, having been in public life for 32 years.

“Several books and thousands of stories have been written about me, but it is only now that my party is leading in the polls that these allegations come out.

“I will leave the public to draw their own conclusions about why that might be.”

He said the Guardian newspaper “wants to smear anybody who talks about the immigration issue”.

Extremism

Mr Farage added: “But the truth is that I have done more in my career to defeat extremism and far-right politics than anybody else in the UK, from my time fighting the BNP right up to today.”

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 advisor 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.”