Dulwich College has said allegations that Nigel Farage made racist and antisemitic comments to fellow pupils at the school are “profoundly distressing” and “entirely at odds with the Dulwich College of today”.
In the first reported statement from the school about the accusations – which date from 1970s – current master Robert Milne wrote “such behaviour is wholly incompatible with the values the College holds”.
“What we can unequivocally state is that the behaviours described are entirely at odds with the Dulwich College of today,” he continued
The comments come in a letter to former Dulwich pupil Jean-Pierre Lihou.
Mr Lihou, 61, has alleged the current Reform UK leader sang antisemitic songs to Jewish schoolmates and “had a big issue with anyone called Patel”.
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Mr Farage has said he “never directly racially abused anybody” at Dulwich and said there is a “strong political element” to the allegations coming out 49 years later.
Reform’s deputy leader Richard Tice has called the ex-classmates “liars”.
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Nigel Farage said: “I have not met or spoken to this master. So I am surprised by his uninformed comments in response to claims from nearly 50 years ago from politically motivated actors.
“If he is interested, I can show him the many messages that I have received from fellow pupils, including Jewish ones, that entirely contradict these allegations.”
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A spokesperson for Reform UK said: “This witch hunt is merely an attempt to discredit Reform and Nigel Farage.
“Instead of debating Reform on the substance of our ideas and policies, the left-wing media and deeply unpopular Labour Party are now using 50-year-old smears in a last act of desperation.
“The British public see right through it.”
The letter also says the college has avoided making any public statements “to protect the college’s reputation in the long term”.
“This should not be interpreted as indifference: safeguarding the college’s good name and upholding its values are of paramount importance to us,” it continues.
Mr Lihou told Sky News he cautiously welcomed the letter written to him from the master and said he understands why the college wasn’t willing to unequivocally condemn the allegations against the Reform leader directly.
“Dulwich College has been clear that such accusations are very much at odds with the values of the school,” he said.
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He added: “Why can Mr Farage not accept that approaching 30 people [who] have lasting memories from him as a 13-year-old to an adult that he should unreservedly apologise for?”
Sky News has contacted Dulwich College for a comment.
