Ex-equalities watchdog head ‘confused’ by Nigel Farage response to racism claims | EUROtoday

The former head of the equalities watchdog has questioned Nigel Farage’s response to allegations of racism throughout his teenage years, asking why he has not provided “an unreserved apology for any distress caused”.

The Reform UK chief has confronted allegations that he engaged in racist and antisemitic behaviour whereas he was a pupil at Dulwich College, a high personal faculty in south London.

Speaking to Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillipsformer Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) chair Baroness Kishwer Falkner mentioned she was “confused and disturbed” by the allegations.

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Describing the claims as “ghastly on paper”, Baroness Falkner mentioned: “The one thing that slightly confuses me about him, and I hear his contextualisation of it all. Why can’t he just offer an unreserved apology for any distress caused?

“I just don’t get it. It seems to me that that would be the most genuine thing to say if he’s genuinely not a racist.”

Mr Farage has confronted repeated questions over the allegations, which embrace claims that he instructed a Jewish pupil “Hitler was right” and “gas them”, and instructed a Black pupil: “That’s the way back to Africa.”

The Clacton MP has denied the allegations, variously saying they had been “categorically” unfaithful and at different instances saying he “would never, ever do it in a hurtful or insulting way”.

In a press convention final week, he continued to disclaim he ever made racist remarks in a “malicious or nasty way” whereas accusing broadcasters reporting on the claims of “double standards”.

Mr Farage repeatedly shouted the identify of the controversial Nineteen Seventies comic Bernard Manning at journalists as a part of a weird rant after he was requested concerning the allegations.

The comic, the self-styled king of the offensive joke, repeatedly got here below fireplace for the content material of his act.

The Reform chief additionally learn out a letter from one other former pupil saying Mr Farage was “neither aggressive nor racist”.

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Reading from the letter, he mentioned: “While there was plenty of macho, tongue-in-cheek schoolboy banter, it was humour, and yes, sometimes it was offensive … but never with malice.

“I never heard him racially abuse anyone.”

Mr Farage’s former classmate, Peter Ettedgui, whose Jewish grandparents escaped Nazi Germany, is amongst those that have accused the politician of creating racist remarks to him throughout their faculty days.

Mr Ettedgui has claimed that Mr Farage “repeatedly” approached him and mentioned, “Hitler was right”, whereas they had been pupils on the faculty.

Baroness Falkner’s intervention comes after a gaggle of Holocaust survivors this week referred to as on the Reform chief to apologise over the allegations.

The 11 signatories, a few of whom have survived demise camps, write that they “understand the danger of hateful words” and name on the Clacton MP to confess whether or not he mentioned them or if he’s accusing those that say he did of mendacity.

Zarah Sultana has additionally steered on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that Your Party would group up with the Greens to maintain Nigel Farage out of Downing Street on the subsequent election. While the MP for Coventry South acknowledged that “fundamentally, we are different parties”, she mentioned “there has to be conversations around electoral alliances”.