Nigel Farage has released a statement amid days of racism claims from more than a dozen former classmates at his fee-paying school.
The Reform UK leader broke silence yesterday in a “tetchy” TV interview to deny all of the allegations published by The Guardian from former Dulwich College pupils that claimed that he made racist and antisemitic remarks during their time at the school.
This includes an accusation from BAFTA and Emmy award-winning director Peter Ettedgui, who alleged Farage had said “Hitler was right” and “Gas them”, and claimed he made a prolonged hissing sound to imitate gas showers.
But tonight the Clacton MP has gone further, saying: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been published in the Guardian aged 13, nearly 50 years ago.
“Isn’t it interesting: I am probably the most scrutinised figure in British politics, having been in public life for 32 years. Several books and thousands of stories have been written about me, but it is only now that my party is leading in the polls that these allegations come out. I will leave the public to draw their own conclusions about why that might be.
“We know that the Guardian wants to smear anybody who talks about the immigration issue. But the truth is that I have done more in my career to defeat extremism and far-right politics than anybody else in the UK, from my time fighting the BNP right up to today.
“Many of those making these statements just happen to be political opponents. One, for example, is the current chair of the Salisbury Lib Dems. This is not the first time the desperate establishment has come after me, and it will not be the last.
“So again: I can categorically say that the stories being told about me from 50 years ago are not true”