Harrowing Accounts Detail Nigel Farage’s Alleged Racist Behavior During School Years
A wave of disturbing allegations from former classmates and teachers paints a picture of a young Nigel Farage repeatedly engaging in racist and antisemitic behavior during his time at Dulwich College in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The accounts, detailing incidents ranging from verbal abuse to the alleged teaching of a deeply offensive song, raise serious questions about the formative influences on the prominent political figure.
The allegations surfaced following recent scrutiny of Farage’s past, prompting a chorus of former peers to come forward with their recollections. These accounts, gathered by multiple news outlets, reveal a pattern of behavior that many describe as deeply unsettling and indicative of ingrained prejudice.
“Hitler Was Right” and Targeted Abuse
The most shocking allegations center around direct antisemitic remarks. Peter Ettedgui, a former classmate, described how Farage would allegedly “sidle up” to him and utter deeply offensive statements, including “Hitler was right” and “gas them,” sometimes accompanied by a simulated hissing sound mimicking gas chambers. “I’d never experienced antisemitism growing up, so the first time that this vicious verbal abuse came out of Farage’s mouth was deeply shocking,” Ettedgui stated.
The abuse wasn’t limited to Ettedgui. Anthony Butler, a contemporary of Farage, corroborated Ettedgui’s account, recalling Farage relentlessly bullying him with shouts of “stupid yid” in the playground. Another former pupil reported Farage frequently using the slur “yid,” sometimes uttering it “50 times in a row.” Jean-Pierre Lihou went further, alleging Farage would use the German word for Jew, “Jude,” in a menacing tone reminiscent of the 1930s. Lihou also claimed Farage sang a modified version of George Formby’s “Bless Them All,” with lyrics including, “Gas em all, gas em all, into the chambers they crawl. We’ll gas all the paks, and we’ll gas all the yids, and we’ll gas all the coons and all their fucking kids.”
Beyond Antisemitism: Targeting Minority Groups
The allegations extend beyond antisemitism, encompassing racist abuse directed at individuals of various ethnic backgrounds. Ettedgui also recalled Farage urging other students to “go home,” while Dave Edmonds remembered Farage using racial slurs for people of Afro-Caribbean and South Asian origin. Andy Field recounted an incident where Farage randomly detained a young student of Asian extraction, demonstrating what Field described as a disturbing disregard for fairness and a clear bias based on skin color.
A former pupil from a minority ethnic background described being repeatedly targeted by Farage, who would ask where they were “from” and then point in the opposite direction, telling them “That’s the way back.” Several accounts highlighted Farage’s open support for the National Front, a far-right political party advocating for repatriation. Nick Gordon Brown recalled Farage referring to people of color as “black and brown friends” with a characteristic tone that, according to Brown, is still recognizable today.
A Pattern of Behavior and Lack of Intervention
The accounts suggest this behavior wasn’t isolated. Tim France described Farage’s racist remarks and Nazi salutes as “habitual,” occurring frequently in the classroom. Mark Haward noted that Farage was “known for it across the school,” and Luke Gray bluntly stated that Farage was “proud to be a racist.”
Notably, several individuals expressed regret that no one intervened to stop Farage’s behavior. Butler acknowledged that Farage “could easily have been silenced” but that no one did so. A former teacher, Bob Jope, admitted to feeling unprepared to handle the situation and simply expelled Farage from a classroom after hearing him say “Shut up you Jew” to Ettedgui.
Far-Right Affiliations and Symbolic Gestures
Beyond verbal abuse, several accounts point to Farage’s fascination with far-right ideologies. Haward recalled Farage chanting the name of Oswald Ernald Mosley, the leader of the British Union of Fascists. A former pupil described Farage teaching younger members of the Combined Cadet Force (CCF) the “gas ’em all” song while on training exercises. Another pupil remembered Farage performing a gesture involving a wanker sign while chanting “Moshe Dayan is a wanker.”
These allegations, taken together, present a disturbing portrait of a young man seemingly comfortable expressing and promoting hateful ideologies. While the accounts are based on recollections from decades ago, they raise profound questions about the character and beliefs of a prominent figure in contemporary British politics. .
