Starmer accuses ‘spineless’ Farage of failure to tackle racism in Reform party

A picture


Nigel Farage has been accused of being “spineless” by the prime minister and a “coward” by Dulwich college contemporaries over his response to allegations of racism.Keir Starmer said the Reform UK leader had “questions to answer” about alleged comments and chants as a teenager that include songs about the Holocaust, and accusations of bullying towards minority ethnic schoolboys.He added that Farage had a “track record” when it came to racism, pointing to his failure to discipline his fellow Reform MP Sarah Pochin after she complained about the number of black and brown people she saw in adverts.Speaking to reporters on the way to the G20 summit in Johannesburg, Starmer said: “He needs to explain the comments, or alleged comments that were made, and he needs to do that as soon as possible.He hasn’t got a good track record in relation to this because Sarah Pochin, his MP, made some clearly racist comments and Nigel Farage has done absolutely nothing about it.

”He added: “The man is spineless.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.“So far he’s said absolutely nothing about it.He’s got plenty to say on lots of things, apart from showing some leadership when it comes to racism.

”Contemporaries accused Farage of targeting minority ethnic children for abuse during his time at Dulwich college, along with a series of other racist acts, including allegedly singing a “gas ’em all” song that referred to the killing of Jewish, black and south-east Asian people, and burning a school roll in a year when there were said to be more Patels than Smiths.Farage’s spokesperson has said that the allegations of racism and antisemitism in his teenage years are “entirely without foundation” and that the claims are “one person’s word against another”.“If things like this happened a very, very long time ago, you can’t necessarily recollect what happened,” the spokesperson claimed.A former pupil, who claims to have been targeted with racist abuse when he was nine and Farage was 17, said: “As someone bullied by a person towering over you height-wise and being racially aggressive, it would never be forgotten.Being singled out in the lower-school playground just because you look different will never be forgotten.

People can forget many things but not an empty helpless feeling of fear, I assure you.”Jean-Pierre Lihou, who was a friend of Farage’s for a while at Dulwich college and says he stayed over at his home, said Farage should personally address the allegations, which he described as numerous and consistent.He said: “It is not one person’s word against another, there is a lot of people who have similar recollections.Is he saying that everyone has simultaneously made this up?”Lihou, 61, who claims to have seen Farage abuse Peter Ettedgui, today an award-winning film director, at school, added: “People need to wake up.It is a brave thing to do to speak out.

People have work colleagues and some might disagree with you doing it.My niece sent me a message that almost made me well up.She said she had never been more proud to call me her uncle.It is cowardly of him to hide behind a spokesperson.Is it because there is nothing he can say?”Tim France, 61, who claimed to have heard Farage chanting racist songs and “regularly” performing the Nazi “Sieg heil” salute, said Farage appeared to have adopted the approach of Donald Trump in issuing blanket denials of anything damaging to him.

He said: “Firstly it’s not ‘one person’s word against another’, it’s, what, 12 people’s words against one? Secondly, when Michael Crick interviewed Farage back in 2013 he gave an entirely different response.He used the ‘we all say stupid things when we’re young’ defence.“So which response is the real one: ‘we all said stupid things’ or ‘it didn’t happen’ and we’re all ‘fake news’? I think that inconsistency is the interesting thing now.”Sign up to First EditionOur morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what’s happening and why it mattersafter newsletter promotionA fourth former pupil, who was in the combined cadet force at Dulwich college, where he claims to have heard Farage sing a song about gassing Jewish people, said: “My memory is very clear.You don’t get 12 witnesses to comment on something and then claim it could have been concocted.

“Their line of rebuttal is not just poor strategic communications, [it] does little to assist Farage’s attempts to be a credible prime ministerial candidate, as he clearly said these things, and a better strategy would have been to admit that he said silly things in his past and is a better man now leading the country to a more cohesive, less divisive future,It shows a lack of moral courage,”The Reform leader is also under pressure to take action against Pochin after her comments last month for which she has apologised,The MP told TalkTV: “It drives me mad when I see adverts full of black people, full of Asian people,”She said: “It doesn’t reflect our society and I feel that your average white person, average white family is … not represented any more.

”Farage called her comments “ugly” but not racist and failed to take any disciplinary action against her.A Reform source said Starmer was “desperate, sinking in the polls and lashing out”.Farage said: “For the weakest prime minister in living memory to call me spineless is utterly ludicrous.The voters will have their say on both of us at the ballot box next May.”
A picture

Tell us about a recipe that has stood the test of time

Recipes carry stories, and often when they have been passed down from generation to generation, these tales have a chapter added to them each time they are made. Family members concoct elaborate treats and seasoning mixes, which in some cases travel across oceans to end up on our dinner tables.We would like to hear about the recipes that have stood the test of time for you, and never fail to impress. Who first made it for you? Did you stick to the recipe that was passed down or have you improvised? What are the stories you associate with your favourite family recipe?Let us know and we will feature some of the best in Feast.Tell us about the recipe that has been handed down through generations in the form below

A picture

Alice Zaslavsky’s recipe for garlic red peppers with a creamy white bean dip, AKA papula

This week, I’ve been putting the finishing touches on an interview I recorded with legendary Australian cheesemaker Richard Thomas, the inventor of an ingredient you may not even realise is Australian: marinated feta, AKA “Persian fetta”. An unexpected stop on a trip to Iran in the 1970s gifted Thomas a chance meeting with a Persian doctor and his breakfast: fresh labneh with soft, still-warm lavash. It was a revelation. On his return, Thomas got to work creating a fresh cheese from goat’s milk (similar to chèvre) and from cow’s milk, marinated and preserved in oil, with an extra “t” to avert confusion with the Greek-style feta, that’s still being utilised by cooks and chefs right across the world.Persian fetta is a shapeshifter, capable of remaining both firm and steadfast when crumbled across the top of a platter or salad, and of yielding to a soft, velvety cream, enhancing all manner of dishes from pasta to pesto to whipped dips and schmears – and, of course, as a topping for that Aussie cafe staple, avocado toast

A picture

How to turn hazelnuts into a brilliant flour for cakes – recipe | Waste not

Each recipe in my cookbook Eating for Pleasure, People & Planet includes optional whole food ingredients such as rapadura sugar, emmer wheat and flaxseeds to boost nutrients and flavour, while also keeping things adaptable so you can use up what you already have in the cupboards. Writing a plant-based cookbook taught me new ways to save waste, and confirmed my belief that zero-waste cooking is whole food cooking. Aquafaba (the liquid from a tin of chickpeas or other beans), for example, is a powerful emulsifier that can replace eggs, especially when whisked with ground flaxseeds or chia. It’s a brilliant way of turning what we’d usually pour down the sink into cakes with remarkable lift and texture.When I was writing the dessert chapter of my cookbook, I wanted every recipe to offer new ways of making cakes more nourishing

A picture

Fish, cheese or chicken? Ravinder Bhogal’s recipes for warming winter pies

When the temperature takes a nosedive, few things compete with a just-baked pie. Don’t be daunted by social media images of perfect, artistic ones; a pie will taste just as good whether it’s rustically homespun or exactingly decorated and carved. Ultimately, what is more important is the integrity of the ingredients (both the casing and the filling). As pastry or potatoes are such a large part of the equation, invest in the best, and make sure puff pastry is all butter and filo is generously lubricated with melted butter. And, if you’re serving your pie with mash, you want it lump-free, properly seasoned and enriched with butter and cream

A picture

I’m vegetarian, he’s a carnivore: what can I cook that we’ll both like? | Kitchen aide

I’m a lifelong vegetarian, but my boyfriend is a dedicated carnivore. How can I cook to please us both? Victoria, by email “I have three words for you, Victoria,” says Anna Ansari, author of Silk Roads, who grew up in a predominantly vegetarian household: “Di si xian.” Typical of northern China, this stir-fry of aubergine, potato and peppers (otherwise known as the “three treasures”) is laced with soy, Shoaxing wine, white pepper, sugar, cornflour and, in Ansari’s case, doubanjiang. She also adds tofu (the fourth treasure, if you will) for “a rounded, one-pot/wok dinner” to eat with steamed rice. “It reminds me of being a teenager in Beijing, far from home and in need of warmth and comfort,” she says, and we could all do with some of that right now

A picture

José Pizarro’s recipe for braised lamb and kale cazuela with beans

My mum, Isabel, has always cooked slowly. Life on the family farm was busy, so a pot of lamb would often be bubbling away while she worked and, by the time we all sat down for lunch, the whole house smelled incredible. November takes me straight back there. It is the month for food that warms you, dishes made to sit in the centre of the table and to bring everyone close. Lamb shoulder loves a slow cook, turning soft and rich, especially when cooked with alubias blancas (white beans) to soak up the sauce, while a good splash of oloroso gives it a deeper, rounder flavour than any red wine ever could