Nigel Farage dismisses racist and antisemitic school bullying claims as ‘made-up fantasies’
Nigel Farage has called allegations of racist and antisemitic bullying during his time at Dulwich college “complete made-up fantasies”, saying his accusers are “people with very obvious political motivation”.More than 30 people have spoken to the Guardian as part of an investigation based on multiple accounts of racism, including Peter Ettedgui, 61, an Emmy- and Bafta-winning director, who recalled Farage growling repeatedly “Hitler was right” or “Gas them” at him when they were at school.Farage has previously denied “directly” targeting anyone with racist or antisemitic abuse or having the “intent” to hurt anyone, and has not publicly recognised the events described.His response to claims of racism, which he was first questioned on in 2013 by the Channel 4 reporter Michael Crick, have shifted over time.In a broadcast interview in November, he said: “I would never, ever do it in a hurtful or insulting way.
It’s 49 years ago.It’s 49 years ago.I had just entered my teens.Can I remember everything that happened at school? No, I can’t.Have I ever been part of an extremist organisation or engaged in direct, unpleasant, personal abuse, genuine abuse, on that basis? No.
”Challenged again about whether he had racially abused anyone, Farage responded: “No, not with intent.”But when asked at a Reform UK press conference in central London on Wednesday why he had not apologised to his accusers, he said: “I don’t apologise for things that are complete made-up fantasies.”Amid loud booing from Reform members directed at the ITV journalist who asked the question, Farage added: “Some of what is out there is just absolute nonsense made by people with very obvious, if you look, political motivation.” He said others could focus on “stuff that happened in the 1970s” but Reform was looking ahead to the May local elections.Farage has been asked to apologise in a letter signed by 26 of his school contemporaries.
Last month an ex-Dulwich teacher spoke out about the racism claims, saying: “Of course he abused pupils.”Farage was speaking at an event in London Bridge at which Laila Cunningham, a Muslim and former CPS prosecutor, was announced as Reform’s candidate for London mayor when the capital goes to the polls in 2028.During the press conference, Farage said remarks by another Reform mayoral candidate, Chris Parry – who suggested the London-born David Lammy should “go home” to the Caribbean – were “over the top”, when questioned about the issue for the first time.The Reform leader was asked whether Parry was a good representative of the party in light of his views.In a past tweet that came to light at the end of last year, Parry, Reform’s candidate for the Hampshire and the Solent mayoralty, suggested the deputy prime minister’s “loyalty lies” in the Caribbean.
Farage said Parry had also criticised “many white politicians, called them unpatriotic, and suggested they went to live in other countries”, but said: “Some of his comments are a bit rich.”He said: “I get that.He is intensely patriotic.He’s risen to the rank of rear admiral, he’s given enormous service to this country.But I do think his comments on Lammy were over the top and he should apologise for them.
”Cunningham, asked if she thought London was too diverse, said the problem in the capital was “not about diversity”, adding that her parents had come from Egypt in the 1960s and had had to integrate,“But what you find in certain parts of London is that immigration is too much, and when it’s too many, they dominate,” she said,“And you do have certain parts of London where people who have been in that area, grew up there, do not feel it’s their part any more,It doesn’t feel like London, and that is a problem,”Farage boycotted prime minister’s questions in the Commons on Wednesday to appear on Times Radio, saying it was “more worthwhile than sitting in the House of Commons being abused by a prime minister and having absolutely no chance to respond”.
He faced criticism from Labour’s Michael Shanks, who wrote on X that Farage had been selected to ask a question in the Commons on Tuesday on energy but had withdrawn and did not “bother to turn up”.Commenting on Farage’s decision to boycott PMQs, the Labour MP Chris Bryant wrote: “Not really an mp at all.”The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know.If you have something to share on this subject, you can contact us confidentially using the following methods.Secure Messaging in the Guardian appThe Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories.
Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs,This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said,If you don't already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS/Android) and go to the menu,Select ‘Secure Messaging’,SecureDrop, instant messengers, email, telephone and postIf you can safely use the Tor network without being observed or monitored, you can send messages and documents to the Guardian via our SecureDrop platform.
Finally, our guide at theguardian,com/tips lists several ways to contact us securely, and discusses the pros and cons of each,
Reeves’s promise of pub business rates U-turn averts Labour rebellion
Rachel Reeves has avoided another damaging rebellion against her economic policies with the promise of a U-turn on controversial tax hikes for pubs in England, after weeks of protest from her colleagues and the hospitality industry.Government sources said on Thursday the chancellor was finalising a support package for the struggling industry that would include reductions to business rates for pubs, which had been facing a 76% rise on average over the next three years.Industry figures welcomed news of the U-turn, which comes after similar climbdowns over cuts to winter fuel payments, cuts to disability benefits and a rise in inheritance tax for farmers.But with the Treasury yet to publish details of the support package, Reeves’s colleagues say they are willing to push ahead with an amendment to the government’s finance bill if they feel it does not go far enough.Tonia Antoniazzi, the Labour chair of the all-party parliamentary group on beer, said: “I am over the moon, things are moving in the right direction
The Primark machine suffers a continental splutter at a bad moment | Nils Pratley
It is probably a good thing that Associated British Foods has not yet split itself in two, liberating the go-getting and supposedly reliable Primark from the more volatile food and ingredients businesses. In standalone form, Primark would probably have suffered a bigger share price thump than the 14% fall that the still-combined conglomerate sustained after Thursday’s profits warning.The problem at Primark is that it has suddenly become hard to know what to expect. A year ago, the stores in continental Europe seemed to be trading well while the UK ones hit a soft spot. Now the UK end is back on form, regaining some market share, while the continental stores have had a serious skid
Hundreds of nonconsensual AI images being created by Grok on X, data shows
New research that samples X users prompting Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok demonstrates how frequently people are creating sexualized images with it. Nearly three-quarters of posts collected and analyzed by a PhD researcher at Dublin’s Trinity College were requests for nonconsensual images of real women or minors with items of clothing removed or added.The posts offer a new level of detail on how the images are generated and shared on X, with users coaching one another on prompts; suggesting iterations on Grok’s presentations of women in lingerie or swimsuits, or with areas of their body covered in semen; and asking Grok to remove outer clothing in replies to posts containing self-portraits by female users.Among hundreds of posts identified by Nana Nwachukwu as direct, nonconsensual requests for Grok to remove or replace clothing, dozens reviewed by the Guardian show users posting pictures of women including celebrities, models, stock photos and women who are not public figures posing in snapshots.Several posts in the trove reviewed by the Guardian have received tens of thousands of impressions and come from premium, “blue check” accounts, including accounts with tens of thousands of followers
Musk lawsuit over OpenAI for-profit conversion can go to trial, US judge says
Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI is to go to trial after a US judge said there is plenty of evidence to support the billionaire’s case.The world’s richest man, who co-founded OpenAI, is suing the ChatGPT developer and its chief executive, Sam Altman, over claims its leaders violated the organisation’s founding mission by shifting to a for-profit model.The US district judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers in Oakland, California, told a hearing there was plenty of evidence that suggested OpenAI’s leaders made assurances that its original nonprofit structure was going to be maintained.She said there were enough disputed facts to let a jury consider the claims at a trial scheduled for March, rather than decide the issues herself. Rogers said she would issue a written order after the hearing that addresses OpenAI’s attempt to throw out the case
Chloe Kim’s Olympic three-peat bid in doubt after dislocated shoulder
Chloe Kim’s pursuit of an unprecedented third straight Olympic gold medal has been thrown into uncertainty after the American snowboard star dislocated her shoulder during a training session in Switzerland.Kim, the dominant force in women’s halfpipe snowboarding for nearly a decade, revealed the injury on Thursday, sharing video of the fall that caused the scare. The injury occured while Kim was training in Laax, a regular World Cup venue and a key pre-Olympic stop on the circuit. The 25-year-old landed a maneuver cleanly but lost her edge shortly afterward, sliding awkwardly across the pipe and into the wall.With the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics less than a month away, Kim said she is still unsure whether she will be able to compete
The mediocre Ashes: England arrived as a rabble and Australia weren’t much better | Geoff Lemon
As far as endings go, it ended nicely. People streamed on to the Sydney Cricket Ground, wanting to get close to the trophy presentation and to have a canter on the turf. Nothing thrills an audience more than a chance to walk the stage. On a sun-kissed blue-heaven day, the match had finished early enough to leave plenty of afternoon to spare. Later Usman Khawaja soaked that up with his own crowd of family and friends, on his last day as a Test player
Kimmel on Trump’s whitewashing of January 6 anniversary: ‘Don’t give in to this revisionist history’
Dolly, Dreamgirls and Daniel Radcliffe: the biggest Broadway shows of 2026
Jon Stewart on Trump’s military intervention in Venezuela: ‘This is all exhausting’
‘I wanted that Raiders of the Lost Ark excitement – you could die any minute’: how we made hit video game Prince of Persia
The Guide #224: Bondage Bronte, to more comeback tours – what will be 2026’s big cultural hitters ?
My cultural awakening: I May Destroy You helped me confront being spiked