Lord Walney expresses concern over Reform leader’s response as Labour calls on Farage to address ‘disturbing’ allegations
Nigel Farage’s wholesale denial of claims from witnesses of alleged racist behaviour during his teenage years has been described as “troubling” by the last government’s adviser on political extremism.
Lord Walney, who was an adviser to the Conservative government as a cross-bench peer, said testimonies reported by the Guardian appeared credible and that the Reform leader’s response would be concerning to many.
Farage has issued a blanket denial that he behaved in a way that was antisemitic or racist as a teenager, including to allegations that he targeted ethnic minority children for abuse during his time at Dulwich college, sang a “Gas em all” song that referred to the killing of Jewish, black and south-east Asian people and burned a school roll in a year when there were said to be more Patels than Smiths.
When previously faced with claims from Channel 4 in 2013 about his conduct at school, he admitted saying “some ridiculous things … not necessarily racist things … it depends on how you define it”.
