Nigel Farage has unleashed a furious tirade against the BBC, accusing the national broadcaster of "double standards and hypocrisy" after he was questioned about allegations he used racist and antisemitic language while a schoolboy nearly five decades ago.
Farage's Explosive Accusation Against the BBC
The Reform UK leader's outburst came during a press conference on Thursday 4 December 2025. He was responding to a line of questioning from the BBC regarding claims, first reported by The Guardian, that he made offensive remarks as a pupil at the prestigious Dulwich College in the 1970s.
Mr Farage vehemently denied the allegations, which he labelled "made-up twaddle", a phrase originally used by his deputy Richard Tice. He took particular issue with how a BBC interviewer framed a question, suggesting it referenced his "relationship with Hitler".
"I think to frame a question around the leader of Reform's 'relationship with Hitler', which is how she framed it, was despicable, disgusting beyond belief," Farage stated.
The Blackface Defence and Call for an Apology
In a striking counter-accusation, the Reform leader pointed to the BBC's own historical programming to allege institutional hypocrisy. He highlighted that during the era of the alleged school incidents, the BBC aired 'The Black and White Minstrels', a show which featured performers using blackface.
"The double standards and hypocrisy of the BBC are absolutely astonishing," Farage declared. "At the time I was alleged to have made these remarks, one of your most popular weekly shows was 'The Black and White Minstrels'. The BBC were very happy to use blackface."
He concluded this point by demanding: "So I want an apology from the BBC for virtually everything you did during the 1970s and 80s."
Defence from a Former Schoolmate and Political Fallout
Addressing the substance of the allegations, Mr Farage read from a letter he said was written by a former Jewish schoolmate. The unnamed pupil reportedly stated that while there was "plenty of macho, tongue-in-cheek schoolboy banter" that could be offensive, it was "never with malice".
The letter explicitly said: "I never heard him racially abuse anyone. If he had, he would have been reported and punished. He wasn't." It also dismissed the recent claims as based on "belatedly politically-dubious recollections from nearly half a century ago".
The row has drawn sharp political responses. A Conservative Party spokesman accused Farage of being "too busy furiously defending himself to defend democracy" from election delays announced by Labour, calling Reform a "one-man band... in chaos once again".
Labour Party chair Anna Turley countered, stating: "Nigel Farage can't get his story straight. It really shouldn't be this difficult to say whether he racially abused people in the past." She said he should apologise to alleged victims instead of demanding apologies from the BBC.
The controversy has simmered since mid-November 2025, when The Guardian reported it had spoken to 20 former classmates who recalled Mr Farage using racist language. When previously challenged on 24 November, Farage responded that the events were 49 years ago and said he had never engaged in "direct, unpleasant, personal abuse" with intent.
