Can Farage survive racism and antisemitism allegations? – The Latest

Summary

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Today in Focus: Can Farage Survive Racism and Antisemitism Allegations? – The Latest

Host: Lucy Hough
Guest: Henry Dyer (Guardian Investigations Correspondent)
Release Date: December 4, 2025
Duration of Core Content: 00:42–09:54

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Episode Overview

This episode focuses on escalating allegations of racist and antisemitic behavior directed at Nigel Farage during his school years at Dulwich College. Guardian journalist Henry Dyer joins host Lucy Hough to discuss the developments in the investigation, Farage and Reform UK’s public responses, and the broader implications for Farage’s reputation and potential political leadership.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

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Overview of the Allegations

• Background: Allegations have arisen suggesting Farage engaged in racist and antisemitic behavior as a student in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
  • Victims and Witnesses: Multiple former classmates, now numbering more than two dozen, have come forward to corroborate accounts of abuse, both as victims and as witnesses.
  • Notable Case: Peter Ettogui, one of the alleged victims, states Farage used antisemitic language and taunts against him.
    • "Farage would sidle up to him and say Hitler was right, would talk about gassing, would make a hissing sound... would say Judah and just call Peter a Jew frequently and use kind of other direct antisemitic terms of abuse at him." – Henry Dyer (03:02)
  • Some former classmates now express regret for not intervening at the time.

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Farage and Reform UK’s Response

• Deniability vs. Hostility:

  • Farage has offered inconsistent responses. Initially, he remained quiet, followed by what Henry Dyer describes as a “non-apology,” claiming he had no intention to offend and characterizing his actions as “playground banter” (05:43).
  • Farage’s Reform UK deputy, Richard Tice, has responded far more aggressively, categorically dismissing the Guardian’s sources as liars, calling the story “all made up twaddle.”
    • "This is all made up twaddle by people who don't want Nigel to be Prime Minister of the country." – Richard Tice, paraphrased by Henry Dyer (01:08)
  • Tice questioned why the allegations surfaced now, implying a politically motivated smear campaign.

• Criticism of the Dismissal:

  • Anna Turley, Labour’s chair, criticized Tice’s reaction as “deplorable” toward those who have shown courage in coming forward (04:55).
  • Dyer notes that the Guardian has been transparent when a source is involved in party politics, but stresses that the vast majority of sources are not politically motivated.

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Political Impact and Public Reaction

• Effect on Public Opinion & Polling:

  • There's evidence of decreasing support for Reform UK in recent YouGov polling (from 29% to 25%), but Henry Dyer notes causality cannot be firmly established.
    • The central concern illuminated by the coverage is Farage’s character and leadership integrity (07:20).
    • Dyer highlights Reform’s shifting public statements, from legal threats and denials to partial admissions and, finally, to calling sources liars. This appears inconsistent to the public and may undermine the party’s claim to honesty and authenticity.
    • “That's a series of positions which, as a member of the public, you might feel that a politician is not being straightforward and honest with you.” – Henry Dyer (08:34)

• Why the Story Matters Now:

  • Dyer emphasizes that while the incidents happened decades ago, they spanned the entirety of Farage’s time at Dulwich College, shaping his subsequent perspectives.
  • The investigation is also about accountability in public life, especially for those vying for top political roles.
    • “The way that he's responding to the accusations now, what does that say about his political leadership today and his ability to be open and honest with people?” – Henry Dyer (09:17)

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On Additional Witnesses Coming Forward:
  • “We've still had other boys come forward from Dulwich College... Many of them are coming forward and saying that they corroborate what's happening and they're doing so in the face of denials from Farage and today and recently from Richard Tice.” – Henry Dyer (01:52)
• On Reform’s Escalating Defense Stance:
  • “When other people have been faced with accusations in their past, some politicians come forward and they own what happened and apologize. Instead, what Reform has done is they have offered a number of positions... from threatening lawsuits... to calling the sources that we've spoken to liars.” – Henry Dyer (07:20)
• Character and Leadership Reflection:
  • “What these stories have really always been about is a question of character. It's a question of political character for Farage and a question of leadership.” – Henry Dyer (07:20)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:42 — Allegations against Farage explained; Guardian investigation introduced
• 01:52 — New witnesses and corroboration since initial report
• 03:02 — Details of Peter Ettoqui’s allegations and lifelong impact
• 03:55 — Richard Tice’s aggressive denial and criticism discussed
• 05:43 — Farage’s public response and “non-apology” described
• 06:59 — Assessment of the story’s public and political repercussions; polling mentioned
• 07:20 — Shift in Reform UK's responses; impact on the party's image
• 09:00 — Addressing why the story still matters; importance of continued investigation

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Summary for Non-Listeners

This episode unpacks the serious and evolving allegations about Nigel Farage’s behavior as a schoolboy and the wide-ranging consequences for his current political career. Multiple witnesses have spoken to the Guardian, with some expressing deep regret that they didn’t intervene against the racism and antisemitism they recall. Farage and his party have responded with denials that have shifted in tone and content, notably culminating in public attacks on the credibility of witnesses. The episode offers both a close look at the journalism behind the story and a reflection on what these allegations say about Farage's suitability for higher office today, making a persuasive case for why these issues remain relevant nearly 50 years on.

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Transcript

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[Lucy Hoff]

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[Lucy Hoff]

This is the Guardian.

[Henry Dyer]

The accusations suggest a track record of racist and anti Semitic behavior by Farage while he was at Dulwich. Categorically on the record, you did not racially abuse fellow people. I would never, ever do it in a hurtful or insulting way.

[Lucy Hoff]

The questions keep coming for Nigel Farage over allegations of racism and antisemitism during his school days. More people have now come forward. But speaking to the BBC, Farage's Reform UK deputy says it's all made up.

[Henry Dyer]

This is all made up twaddle by people who don't want Nigel to be Prime Minister of the country. Funny how they didn't remember this three years ago, six years ago, never. When you have someone who says none of this happened and the people around him are saying none of this happened and the people who say it is a liars. But then there are more than two dozen people who recall otherwise, that's difficult to square.

[Lucy Hoff]

From the Guardians today. In Focus, this is the latest. With me, Lee, Lucy Hoff and I'm joined by Henry Dyer, investigations correspondent at the Guardian. And Henry, you've been working on this story for some weeks now. Henry, since you first reported this on 18 November, along with your colleague Dan Boffi, the story has continued to expand and more people have come forward. Right.

[Henry Dyer]

Yeah. So Dan and I, along with Mark Blacklock, who's been working on this story with us, we've still had other boys come forward from Dulwich College who were there at school with Farage at that time in the late 1970s, early 1980s. And many of them are coming forward and saying that they corroborate what's happening and they're doing so in the face of denials from Farage and today and recently from Richard Tice.

[Lucy Hoff]

Yeah. Which will come soon.

[Henry Dyer]

And so they're saying, and many of them on the record, that they remember what happened to Peter Etogui. Some feel guilty about not having done anything to stop it. Kind of offering their apologies decades on for not having recognized that abuse at the time.

[Lucy Hoff]

Yeah.

[Henry Dyer]

And then others are saying other boys from ethnic minority backgrounds are coming forward and saying, some on the record, that Farage used racist language to abuse them as well.

[Lucy Hoff]

So it's a combination of people who say they were victims of racist abuse or anti Semitic abuse, as was the case with Peter Ettegri, who, I mean, what he says was said to him by nudge of Farage is really shocking, isn't it?

[Henry Dyer]

Yeah. So, I mean, Peter said that Farage would sidle up to him and say Hitler was right, would talk about gassing, would make a hissing sound. People say that Farage would say Judah and just call Peter a Jew frequently and use kind of other direct anti Semitic terms of abuse at him.

[Lucy Hoff]

Yeah. And as we understand, you know, it was 49 years ago, but Peter is still living with the impact of that well into his adult life. Meanwhile, we've been hearing from Reform's deputy chair, Richard Tice, who was interviewed on BBC Radio 4 this morning and was asked about this. And he says effectively that the more than two dozen people that you and the Guardian team have spoken to are effectively making this all up.

[Henry Dyer]

Yes. What's particularly intriguing about this is this doesn't seem to be an off the cuff remark that Richard Tice made this morning on Today. He was actually asked about these accusations on Tuesday evening on GB News. And then he made this same supposition that the people we have spoken to are lying, that it's all a load of rubbish cooked up by people who are politically motivated and have a political act to guide. Now, some of the people we have spoken to are active in party politics, but it's a very, very small number of them and we've been very open saying that they are. So, for instance, there's a guy who's chair of the Liberal Democrats in Salisbury, and we included that and we told Reform that that was the case. But most of the people we've spoken to, you know, they may not agree with Farage or Reform politically, but that's not to say that it is a political motivation or a party political motivation. You know, they're not doing this on behalf of the Labour Party or the Lib Dems to come forward and talk. They're doing this as boys who were there at Dulwich who say this is what they witnessed. Yeah.

[Lucy Hoff]

And we're talking about a very significant number of people. This is more than two dozen people, as I say, and the fact that Tice is saying that these people are lying, are making this up has been really criticised, hasn't it? Had the Labour chair, Anna Turley, saying that it would be deplorable for Tice to say people are lying when they've had the courage to come forward to talk about what they saw, even if historic. But what we're hearing from Tice is different to what we heard from Farage, isn't it? Last month. So in the days after your reporting, Farage was notably very quiet, but he did then give a TV interview where he issued sort of something like a denial, but said he was participating in what he called playground banter. And if he was racist or offensive, that was not done with any intention.

[Henry Dyer]

Yeah, so he said he had no intent to do it. He sort of offered a non apology. You know, if he had, then he apologizes for it. But on the other hand, he says he hadn't. You know, he kind of categorically has denied what Peter Etigui has said happened to him. But Tice has taken that a step further and Tice is calling Peter Etique a liar and suggesting that Peter has made this up. Now Tice has said, well, why didn't he mention this three years ago, six years ago, ten years ago? This is something he said twice. A point Richard Titus made twice on Today and then a few days ago on GB News. But Peter Etogui has spoken about this before. He spoke about it Michael Crick, when Michael Crick wrote his biography of Nigel Farage. Now, at the time, Peter Etogui didn't go on the record with all of it. He wasn't willing to put his name to all of it. It's a very difficult thing to do. And, you know, Peter now finds himself at the center of a lot of attention, so you understand why. But the times have changed. Farage is, you know, in the ascendancy politically, and so you can understand why that might cause someone to want to step forward and go on the record and kind of talk about that very openly. But to suggest that this is only now coming out is simply not an accurate kind of telling of events of when these accusations have come out.

[Lucy Hoff]

Tell me about the response to the story in the three weeks or so since you first published. Do you think it's having cut through with people who may be considering voting reform? I was interested to see the polling from YouGov on Monday that shows that slip from reform from 29% to 25. I mean, does that have any link to this, do you think?

[Henry Dyer]

What these Stories have really always been about is a question of character. It's a question of political character for Raj and a question of leadership. And the way that he and Reform have responded to this has made people question their political leadership. When we first went to Reform for this initial story, after a bit of back and forth with this their lawyer, we eventually did get a comment from the their spokesman, and their spokesman said the allegations are entirely without foundation. The Guardian has produced no contemporary in his record or corroborating evidence to support these disputed recollections from nearly 50 years ago. They said that we were seeking to discredit Reform and suggested that we were smearing the party. When other people have been faced with accusations of wrongdoing in their past, some politicians come forward and they own what happened and they apologize for it. Instead, what Reform has done is they have offered a number of positions ranging from at the first, threatening lawsuits and saying that it is entirely false and defamatory, through lawyers, then accepting that maybe some things had happened, but certainly not the way that it was being recalled. And now this most recent position to call the sources that we've spoken to liars. Now, that is a series of positions which, as a member of the public, you might feel that a politician is not being straightforward and honest with you.

[Lucy Hoff]

Yeah.

[Henry Dyer]

And Farage has developed a. A lot of sort of credibility from people who feel like he is not like other politicians, that he says what really happened and he is honest with them. And I think when you have someone who says none of this happened and the people around him are saying none of this happened, and the people who say it is a liars, but then there are more than two dozen people who recall otherwise. That's difficult to square.

[Lucy Hoff]

Yeah. And just moving forward, I mean, Farage obviously says this was 49 years ago. This is historic. You know, it's schoolboy playground stuff. But what do you say to that? And why is it so important for you and the team at the Guardian who've been looking into this to keep going with this work?

[Henry Dyer]

Yeah. So, I mean, it's one is. I'd say it's not all 49 years ago. That's been a lot of what they've sought to say. But actually this spans Farage's time from when he was 13 at Dulwich all the way up to when he was about to leave. And the point that people have made, Peter's made this point, is the accusation suggests a track record of racist and anti Semitic behavior by Faraj while he was at Dalwood. And then the question is, when he left Dulwich, what happened to him next? So how might that have shaped his thinking soon after he left Dulwich? And then the way that he's responding to the accusations now, what does that say about his political leadership today and his ability to be open and honest with people?

[Lucy Hoff]

Well, Henry, thanks for your work and thanks for joining us today.

[Henry Dyer]

Thanks so much.

[Lucy Hoff]

That's it for today. Thanks for listening to this episode of the latest, the new evening edition of Today in Focus. And we'll be dropping into your feeds every weekday evening with what you need to know about the story everyone's talking about in 10 minutes. Minutes please do give us a watch over on YouTube today in Focus. We'll be back with you as normal tomorrow morning and we'll see you tomorrow night. This episode was presented by me, Lucy Hoff. The producer was Ryan Ramgogan and the lead producer was Zoe Hitch. This is the Guardian.

[Henry Dyer]

Par le tu francais, hablas espanol parl italiano?

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