Nigel Farage has said he did not racially abuse fellow pupils while at school in a “hurtful or insulting way”.
The Reform UK leader said he had never been part of “an extremist organisation or engaged in direct, unpleasant personal abuse” but added: “Can I remember everything that happened at school? No, I can’t.”
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Speaking to reporters on Monday, Mr Farage said there was a “strong political element” to the allegations, which were first published in The Guardian.
The newspaper reported that the former UKIP leader allegedly made racist and antisemitic comments while he was a pupil at Dulwich College, an independent school in south London.
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But asked whether he racially abused fellow pupils when he was at school, Mr Farage said: “No.
“And this is 49 years ago, by the way. 49 years ago. Have I ever tried to take it out on any individual on the basis of where they’re from? No.”
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Pressed on the same question again, he replied: “I would never, ever do it in a hurtful or insulting way.”
He added: “I 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 on what was described as a “very caveated” answer – and that he was “not quite ruling this out”, the Reform UK leader responded: “I’ve never directly really tried to go and hurt anybody.
“Have I said things 50 years ago that you could interpret as being banter in a playground that you could interpret in a modern light of day in some sort of way? Yes.
“Have I ever misspoken in my life in my younger days when I was a child? Probably.
“I would say to you, there is a strong political element to this.”
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The latest accusations come after Sarah Pochin, the Reform MP for Runcorn and Helsby, was embroiled in a racism row after she said it “drives me mad when I see adverts full of black people, full of Asian people”, which do not “reflect our society” – comments she later apologised for.
Mr Farage told reporters that while he was “unhappy” about the “ugly” remarks, he did not think they were “racist”.
But Sir Keir Starmer has called Mr Farage “spineless” for not taking action against Ms Pochin for “obvious racism”.
He told reporters last week: “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.”
