Keir Starmer has labelled Nigel Farage “spineless” for the way he has handled claims the Reform UK leader made racist and antisemitic comments while at school.
A report in the Guardian this week featured allegations from a number of people who attended the private Dulwich College with Farage.
They claimed the future politician had joked about gas chambers and put another pupil in detention when he was a prefect, because of the colour of their skin.
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The allegations are denied by Farage and Reform UK have said they are “entirely without foundation.”
Speaking to reporters on his way to the G20 Summit in South Africa, Sir Keir claimed Farage “needs to explain the comments, or alleged comments that were made, and he needs to do that as soon as possible”, the BBC reports.
Pointing to Farage’s handling of recent comments from Reform MP Sarah Pochin, when she complained about the ethnicity of people in TV adverts, Starmer said Farage “has not got a good track record in relation to this.”
Farage had said the comments were “ugly” but not intended to be racist.
He added that Farage “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.”
“He’s got plenty of things to say about plenty of things, apart from showing some leadership when it comes to racism,” Starmer said.
Responding to the PM’s comments, the Clacton MP said: “For the weakest prime minister in living memory to call me spineless is utterly ludicrous.”
This isn’t the first time Starmer has described Farage as “spineless.” During Prime Minister’s Questions last week, the PM used the same word after Farage declined the opportunity to condemn comments from a Reform councillor describing some children in care as “downright evil.”