A former Jewish classmate of Nigel Farage has told the BBC that the Reform UK leader is being “fundamentally dishonest” by suggesting former students who say they witnessed his racism are not telling the truth.
Peter Ettedgui said Farage had repeatedly told him that “Hitler was right” and that he had “gassed” them when they were teenagers at Dulwich College, London.
On Monday, Farage said he had “never racially abused anyone directly” after claims by former Dulwich College students, including Mr Ettedgui, were first reported in The Guardian.
Ettedgui said Farage’s claim that those making accusations about his past behavior were not telling the truth had left him “really angry”.
The BBC has spoken to two former Dulwich College students who have supported Mr Ettedgui’s version of events.
In an interview on Monday, Farage, 61, said he had probably “made mistakes in my life, in my youth, when I was a child.”
But he insisted he had not “directly racially abused” anyone “by taking it out on an individual based on who they are or what they are.”
When asked if those making the accusations about him were telling the truth, he said: “Well, suddenly, after 49 years, they seem to have a perfect memory. I would tell you that there is a strong political element to this.”
Asked again if they were telling the truth, Farage said: “No, they are not telling the truth.”
After seeing Farage’s denials, Ettedgui told the BBC: “This is a man who has power, influence, has had a massive impact on the direction of this country, which is why, you know, I take my hat off to him.
“And he’s being fundamentally dishonest in everything he says there. So I feel upset and angry about that.”
Ettedgui is one of more than a dozen former Dulwich College students from the late 1970s and early 1980s who have claimed to have witnessed Farage being racist.
As someone who sat near the future reformist leader in Class 3R at Dulwich College, Ettedgui says he can clearly remember the anti-Semitic abuse directed at him, something he says he had never experienced before.
“One of the most vivid memories of my school life is of Farage repeatedly coming up to me and, knowing that I was Jewish, saying that Hitler was right and ‘gassing’ them, and that was frequently followed by a ‘sssss’, you know, a sort of imitation of the sound of escaping gas.
“That’s my most lasting memory of him, and that kind of verbal abuse happened pretty consistently during the year we were in the same class together.
“And it was quite cruel, it was quite unpleasant, it was absolutely directed in a very personal way at me.”
He said Farage’s words had “hit hard” because his grandparents had escaped Nazi Germany and much of his family had died in the Holocaust.
“It wasn’t the normal kind of vaguely anti-Semitic jokes that you would find on school grounds at that time, in the 1970s. It was much worse,” he added.
When asked how he could be sure his memory was correct, given that the events he describes occurred many decades ago, Ettedgui said: “I think anyone who suffers any kind of abuse will mark their life.
“And I carry that memory with me very, very strongly.”
He also responded to Farage’s claim that he was a “child” at the time of the alleged incidents.
“We were teenagers, which in many religions is the age at which one turns one’s gaze toward the adult world,” he said.
He added that the teenage Farage was “very knowledgeable” and “even at that time he had a sense of history and politics.”
He rejected claims that his allegations were part of a politically motivated smear campaign and said he had “a deeply personal motivation” for speaking out now because he found the idea of Farage becoming prime minister “repellent and horrifying”.
“Is Farage saying here that around 20 people who are on record, who experienced or witnessed this type of abuse, we are all lying?” asked.
“Is this some kind of conspiracy between all of us? Well, I can tell you right now that we haven’t talked to each other. We haven’t coordinated this in any way.”
Claims about Farage’s alleged teenage racism were first raised 13 years ago by journalist Michael Crick, when he was a Channel 4 News reporter.
When the Guardian published new allegations last week, Reform UK said they were “completely unfounded”.
“The Guardian has not presented any contemporary records or evidence to corroborate these disputed memories from almost 50 years ago,” a Reform spokesperson said.
“It is no coincidence that this newspaper seeks to discredit Reform UK, a party that has led more than 150 consecutive opinion polls and whose leader the bookmakers now have as the favorite to be the next prime minister.
“We expect these cynical attempts to smear reform and mislead the public to intensify further as we approach the next election.”
Some former Dulwich College students say they do not recognize the image that has been painted of Farage or the accusations of racism against him.
Patrick Neylan, who was in Farage’s year at Dulwich College, told the BBC that some songs were being sung that he wouldn’t be proud of now.
But he added: “I never saw Farage being openly racist, anti-Semitic towards any individual… I would be disappointed because I never thought of him as an open racist.”
The BBC has spoken to two former students who say they remember Farage personally targeting Peter Ettedgui.
Jean-Pierre Lihou said: “I remember him specifically talking about ‘go home, Hitler was right’, singing ‘Gas Them All’ and all those absolutely anti-Semitic comments directed directly at Peter.”
He said he was convinced his memories were accurate and “it seems like yesterday to me.”
Another former student, Martín Rosell, who is now president of a local Liberal Democrat branch, also corroborated the claims of antisemitism, stating that Farage used to “mumble something like ‘Jew’ under his breath” when Ettedgui answered a question in class.
Asked if there was a political motivation behind his decision to speak out now, Rosell said: “I don’t think so. I won’t do this as a member of my local party.
“I do this as a human being who remembers something from 49 years ago, and my memories are clearly the same as many other people’s.”
