Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has accused Reform UK leader Nigel Farage of being 'spineless' over his failure to address allegations of racism within his party and from his own past. The accusation came during exchanges at Prime Minister's Questions, with Starmer demanding Farage explain comments allegedly made during his time at Dulwich College, including songs about the Holocaust and bullying of minority ethnic schoolboys.
Starmer told reporters en route to the G20 summit in Johannesburg that Farage had 'questions to answer' about the claims, which include singing a 'gas 'em all' song and burning a school roll in a year with more Patels than Smiths. The Prime Minister highlighted Farage's inaction over fellow Reform MP Sarah Pochin, who complained about the number of black and brown people in adverts, calling it 'obvious racism'.
'The man is spineless,' Starmer said. 'If that had been someone in my party, I'd have dealt with it straight away. He needs to explain the latest allegations, and whilst he's at it, he needs to explain why he's too spineless to take action in relation to what is obvious racism in the comments of his fellow MP.'
Farage's spokesperson has dismissed the allegations as 'entirely without foundation', claiming they are 'one person's word against another'. However, former Dulwich College pupils have countered this, with Jean-Pierre Lihou calling Farage 'cowardly' for hiding behind a spokesperson, and Tim France noting that at least 12 individuals have come forward with similar recollections.
One former pupil, who was nine when Farage was 17, described being targeted with racist abuse: 'Being singled out in the lower-school playground just because you look different will never be forgotten.' Another, France, highlighted an inconsistency in Farage's responses: in 2013 he used the 'we all say stupid things when we're young' defence, but now denies the events entirely.
