Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has launched a blistering attack on Nigel Farage, describing the Reform UK leader as "spineless" over his failure to address allegations of racist behaviour during his schooldays and his handling of controversial comments from one of his MPs.
School allegations spark political firestorm
The confrontation erupted following a Guardian report containing claims from more than a dozen of Mr Farage's former school contemporaries from Dulwich College. The allegations, dating back nearly 50 years, describe incidents of deeply offensive behaviour throughout his teenage years.
Bafta and Emmy-award winning director Peter Ettedgui, 61, who was in the same class as Mr Farage, provided one of the most disturbing accounts. Mr Ettedgui claimed the Reform leader would "sidle up to me and growl 'Hitler was right' or 'Gas them'" when they were both 13 and 14 years old, sometimes adding a hissing sound to simulate gas showers.
Prime Minister's forceful condemnation
Speaking to journalists while travelling to the G20 summit in South Africa, Sir Keir delivered a stinging rebuke. "He needs to explain the comments, or alleged comments that were made, and he needs to do that as soon as possible," the Prime Minister declared.
Sir Keir highlighted what he called Mr Farage's poor track record on addressing racism, specifically referencing Reform MP Sarah Pochin's recent comments about being driven "mad" by seeing "adverts full of black and Asian people."
"The man is spineless," Sir Keir stated emphatically. "If that had been someone in my party, I'd have dealt with it straight away."
Farage fights back with legal threat
Mr Farage, who has threatened legal action over the school allegations, responded with equal force, dismissing Sir Keir as "the weakest prime minister in living memory."
"For the weakest prime minister in living memory to call me spineless is utterly ludicrous," Mr Farage countered. "The voters will have their say on both of us at the ballot box next May."
A Reform source accused Sir Keir of being "desperate, sinking in the polls and lashing out," while a party spokesman said the Guardian allegations were "entirely without foundation" and noted the newspaper had produced "no contemporaneous record or corroborating evidence."
Broader context of racism claims
The controversy extends beyond the school allegations to ongoing criticism of Mr Farage's handling of Ms Pochin's comments last month. Although she later apologised, saying her remarks were "phrased poorly" and intended to highlight that many adverts were "unrepresentative of British society," Mr Farage resisted calls to suspend her from the party.
Mr Farage defended his position, stating he didn't believe "the intention behind her comments was racist" and suggesting they should be understood in the context of "DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) madness."
Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy condemned this approach in The Independent, writing that such comments "normalised" flagrant racism and expressing disgust that some would "have us believe that we are more divided than we really are."
The escalating conflict between the Prime Minister and Reform leader sets the stage for continued political battles as Britain moves toward next year's general election, with racism allegations and leadership credentials becoming central points of contention.
