The company Farage keeps....

I don’t see the difference in journalists digging for this story, and journalists digging for stories about Angela Rayner, or Boris Johnson, for instance. If a story is there in somebody’s past, there will be somebody out there looking for it.

Oreo

Yes I think it was Naz Shah Bradford MP who made lots of antisemitic comments online wasn’t it?
As for the Farage accusers, I don’t think they’re acting together, more that they’re seeing other Dulwich boys from the past who are making comments in the news so they do too.Some of them will be remembering correctly and others maybe just getting in on the act, who knows? Farage was a teenager at the time and the times were very different to how they are now, so I make allowance for that.
Some body, or some group have been working very hard to dig up any dirt they can on him, possibly Labour activists as they are the ones suffering from Labour defectors to Reform among their voters.

Times were different but I don't remember it being acceptable to say Hitler missed one to Jewish people. Yes he was a teenager at the time but so were the Jewish boys, some of those boys might have had family members who were killed by Hitler. Imagine how they might have felt.

I don't cut him any slack.

Oreo

We’re talking about who dug up this stuff about Farage at school, journalists or Labour activists, or Greens activists possibly.
Surely to goodness, for a man his age they could have dug up something relating to what he did as an actual man!
A lot of politicians may be worried about what they got up to in their school days now becoming front page news.

It isn’t new news. It’s been around for a long time but has largely been ignored. Maybe it’s resurfaced in a big way because so many people are now terrified of someone like Farage becoming PM of this country. ( I know I am…)

Casdon

I don’t see the difference in journalists digging for this story, and journalists digging for stories about Angela Rayner, or Boris Johnson, for instance. If a story is there in somebody’s past, there will be somebody out there looking for it.

There isn’t any difference.
But if stories emerged about what Rayner said to kids in school or Boris Johnson as well, then I would say the same thing.Farage most def isn’t my cup of tea but he was still in school at the time so I make allowance as I would for Rayner or Johnson.

Maybee70 you can relax as it’s highly unlikely Farage will ever become the PM.

A story is a story though. Much was made of Rayner’s childhood, and her having a child at 16, for which she was castigated in some circles. Farage was 16-18 when these allegations applied, so the same age - they are both fair game for the media, or there would be double standards.

Nobody else has to make allowances for either Rayner or Farage and what they did at that young age, but I choose to.

He was an 18 year old man. Why does he need allowances made for him. People younger than that go to prison. He needs to apologise not try to justify himself.

Oreo

Maybee70 you can relax as it’s highly unlikely Farage will ever become the PM.

He has the backing of some very rich people. Murdoch could make or break parties. So can Farages sponsors.

Freya5

Skye17

Primrose53

With Farage we are talking about nearly 50 years ago! I kept old letters from boyfriends and some of the stuff they wrote at the time would be deemed racist now. These were well educated grammar school boys and college students but they thought those sort of jokes were funny then.

Old comedy series on TV now issue a warning at the beginning about offensive language etc which was acceptable at the time. Man About The House, Rising Damp, Love Thy Neighbour, Only Fools And Horses ….. all have these warnings.

I agree with eazybee why drag this up now. Obviously because Reform are doing much better than Labour.

Pointing out a Jewish classmate and saying 'There's one they missed' and adapting the song 'Bless 'em all' to 'Gas 'em all' isn't just any joke, is it? No one would have said that on TV in the 70s.

Also, an 18-year-old telling nine-year-olds in the playground 'Go back to Africa' is just bullying.

The reason the former classmates are coming forward now is that journalists have been looking into it more now – for whatever reasons – and the classmates don't like Farage denying true descriptions of the way he behaved. More than 20 have now come forward according to the Independent.
apple.news/AvszwVH6KT2qpwzyfVqHzzQ

I was considering voting Reform but there is no way I want someone like this to be Prime Minister. It wouldn't be so bad if he had admitted it and said he was wrong, but he is just lying.

Glad you takee at face value reports of what a child might have said 50 years ago. There have also been letters saying non of this happened. Who to believe. As the the biased BBC, there has been no apology only a warning of inappropriate language.
You do realise st lenny Henry also appeared with the black and white minstrals. No apology from him either.
I was called frog lip at school, so, ouldnt help it, and dad went to see the bully. Why didn't these kids parents, if that was the case. Not excusing racism, my neice was called a "chocolate drop",the offending child was taken to task by my daughter, and the bullies mother. So forgive me if I'm not ready to believe all I hear. Especially as Labour are running g scared .

Who to believe? The 20 people whose stories back each other up.

No one has written letters saying none of this happened. They have only said that they didn't see it happen. OK, they didn't happen to be there at the time.

I am more sceptical than the average person, and I was considering voting Reform, but not believing this story is unrealistic.

theworriedwell

Oreo

Yes I think it was Naz Shah Bradford MP who made lots of antisemitic comments online wasn’t it?
As for the Farage accusers, I don’t think they’re acting together, more that they’re seeing other Dulwich boys from the past who are making comments in the news so they do too.Some of them will be remembering correctly and others maybe just getting in on the act, who knows? Farage was a teenager at the time and the times were very different to how they are now, so I make allowance for that.
Some body, or some group have been working very hard to dig up any dirt they can on him, possibly Labour activists as they are the ones suffering from Labour defectors to Reform among their voters.

Times were different but I don't remember it being acceptable to say Hitler missed one to Jewish people. Yes he was a teenager at the time but so were the Jewish boys, some of those boys might have had family members who were killed by Hitler. Imagine how they might have felt.

I don't cut him any slack.

I don't remember it being acceptable to say Hitler missed one to Jewish people

There's no way it was acceptable. I am slightly older than Nigel Farage. When I was at school there was some racism, but no one ever made Holocaust jokes.

The discussions around Farage's racism is not new. There was a documentary made for Channel 4, I think, about 15 years ago. He has had all that time to sort it out. To prove that he is no longer racist.
Has he done that?

He himself said that Shamima Begum was old enough at age 15 to know what she was doing.
Same goes for him, doesn't it?

But you need to ask yourself…..Farage has been around for a long time and in the news, so why have former schoolkids come out with this at the exact moment right now?

Oreo

But you need to ask yourself…..Farage has been around for a long time and in the news, so why have former schoolkids come out with this at the exact moment right now?

Because they see him as a threat. Can’t they find anything more recent ? If not, they should get back in their boxes. To be fair , I also think crap about Rachel Reeves as a young chess player is totally irrelevant. Plus the rubbish about Starmer being a toolmaker’s son.

Oreo

But you need to ask yourself…..Farage has been around for a long time and in the news, so why have former schoolkids come out with this at the exact moment right now?

This has been ongoing since 2013 Oreo, if you look online you can see that this story has raised its head again and again. I think as more people come forward, the head of steam increases - as it does in any scenarios involving people in the public eye.

Oreo

But you need to ask yourself…..Farage has been around for a long time and in the news, so why have former schoolkids come out with this at the exact moment right now?

According to Peter Ettedgui, the Jewish former classmate of Farage’s whom Farage targeted for an entire year (including saying ‘Shut up, Jew!’ when Ettedgui answered a question in class):

//Farage claims that my fellow former schoolmates and I have only come forward now that he is in pole position to be our next prime minister. In this, I admit he is partially correct: who would want their school bully to become their PM?//
inews.co.uk/opinion/exposed-farage-racist-why-had-speak-out-4075319

I think the key question is not ‘Why are more former schoolmates coming forward right now?’ (these aren’t new allegations, just more of the same) but ‘Is what they say true?’

It’s extremely unlikely that it’s not.

Primrose53

With Farage we are talking about nearly 50 years ago! I kept old letters from boyfriends and some of the stuff they wrote at the time would be deemed racist now. These were well educated grammar school boys and college students but they thought those sort of jokes were funny then.

Old comedy series on TV now issue a warning at the beginning about offensive language etc which was acceptable at the time. Man About The House, Rising Damp, Love Thy Neighbour, Only Fools And Horses ….. all have these warnings.

I agree with eazybee why drag this up now. Obviously because Reform are doing much better than Labour.

How strange. I never went out with ignorant people, so I never experienced that kind of thing. maybe we moved in different intellectual circles.

I think of Karl Beech, and the credence that was given to his accusations by many people who should have known better, and the damage that they did.

Do you mean Carl Beech the UK serial sex abuse accuser eazybee? Can you explain what you feel is the parallel please?

Casdon

Do you mean Carl Beech the UK serial sex abuse accuser eazybee? Can you explain what you feel is the parallel please?

I’m also perplexed by eazybee thinking of Carl Beech in relation to the topic under discussion.

“Carl Beech is a liar, fraudster and paedophile” BBC News

Perhaps she will answer your request Casdon, and explain where she sees a parallel.

Why are more former schoolmates coming forward right now?’ (these aren’t new allegations, just more of the same) but ‘Is what they say true

There are always snitches ready to jump on any bandwaggon which will give them prominence.

I dont like Farage with a person. I agree with some of his policies in being hard on immigration and ptiing your own country first. He is an ugly little man but very charismatic. And a brilliant orator. Reminds me of another little man back in the 1930s and look how that got out of hand.

My mistake, Carl Beech, and yes I do mean him.

The parallel is surely obvious: the string of false accusations levelled at prominent people including Edward Heath, completely without foundation, but promoted by MP Tom Watson, and investigated by Operation Midland for fourteen months.
Nothing to do with child abuse, but false accusations that did untold damage to those alive who were able to refute them, and to the families of those who had died.
Throw enough mud and it sticks.

Carl Beech was one man who made multiple allegations against people in the public eye, some of whom he had no connection to. I can’t see a parallel between that and multiple people making essentially one allegation about somebody they were at school with?

eazybee- on what basis do you say the accusations of 28 people are false regarding Farage's comments directed specifically to them at Dulwich College? Some of those 28 people have witnesses who confirm the heard Frage make those comments.

On the other hand allies of Farage, such as Tice, who say categorically these, now 28 individuals are all lying, were not actually present so can not possibly know......

Several more individuals have come forward this week to bump the total up to 28 after hearing Farage's various denials and circuitous responses to the allegations. They were upset that Farage couldn't admit the comments he made so were prompted to come forward.

Farage has said he can't actually remember the specific comments he made to these 28 individuals as so long ago. The 28 individuals however say they can clearly remember the comments made all those years ago as what Farage said to them was so very upsetting they have not been able to forget.

Believing Frarage, who admits he can't remember over 28 different people who say they can remember and some also have witnesses to corroborate, is not grounds to demonstrate 28 people are making false allegations.

I do not think the nature or number of individuals who have alleged Farage's comments to them at DC is in any way comparable to Carl Beech alleging claims of child sex abuse in the way he did to the police.