Keir Starmer calls Nigel Farage ‘spineless’ over handling of racism claims
Sir Keir Starmer has called Nigel Farage “spineless” and accused him of failing to adequately explain reports of racist and anti-Semitic comments the Reform UK leader allegedly made while at school.
This week the Guardian newspaper reported that some of Farage’s contemporaries at the private Dulwich College in south London claimed the young Reform UK leader had joked about gas chambers and detained another student while governor because of his skin colour.
Reform UK insists the allegations are “completely unfounded”.
Reacting to Sir Keir’s comments, Farage said: “It is utterly ridiculous that the weakest prime minister in living memory has called me a spinet.”
Speaking to reporters en route to the G20 Summit in South Africa, Sir Keir claimed Farage “must explain the comments that have been made or the comments that have been alleged, and he needs to do that as soon as possible”.
Sir Keir added that the Reform leader “doesn’t have a good track record on this” given that one of his Reform MPs remains in the parliamentary party Following the statements he made regarding people’s ethnicity in television commercials.
Sarah Pochin, who was elected to parliament in a by-election in May, said last month: “It drives me crazy to see ads full of black people, Asian people, basically people of color.”
Pochin argued that “this does not reflect our society”.
He quickly apologized for what the Prime Minister described at the time as “shocking racism”.
faraj He said they were “ugly” but he didn’t mean to be racist.
Asked about Farage, Sir Keir said: “The man is spineless.”
“If this were someone from my party, I would deal with this issue immediately,” he said.
Sir Keir said Farage “needs to explain the latest allegations and in doing so he must explain why his fellow MP is too spineless to take action on what appears to be blatant racism in his comments.”
“He has a lot to say on a lot of issues other than his leadership on racism.”
Responding to the Prime Minister’s comments, Farage said: “It is utterly ridiculous that the weakest prime minister in living memory calls me a spineless person.
“Voters will have their say about both of us at the ballot box next May.”
A Reform source said the prime minister was “desperate, failing at the ballot box and lashing out”.
