Tice’s remarks have been called “utterly deplorable”
Reform’s deputy leader has been roundly condemned for describing the racism allegations against Nigel Farage from his school days as “all made-up twaddle”.
In an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Emma Barnett, Tice dismissed the allegations that Farage had joked about gassing Jewish people or told a Jewish classmate, Peter Ettedgui, that “Hitler was right”.
Barnett noted that, as a prefect, Farage is also alleged to have put a pupil in detention because of the colour of their skin.
In addition, the Reform leader allegedly called students from ethnic minority backgrounds the P-word and the W-word.
The BBC journalist read out Farage’s comments to the BBC last week, in which he said: “Have I said things 50 years ago that you could interpret as being banter in a playground, that you can interpret in the modern light of day in some sort of way? Yes.”
He added: “I’ve never directly racially abused anybody. No.”
Tice responded: “There you are, there’s your answer, you were told last week. Why are you raising it again when we were talking about county council elections.”
Barnett pointed out that Tice had spoken about freedom of speech earlier in the interview, and said: “That’s exactly why I am, and while I have that freedom of speech I’ll use it as I’m sure you’ll like me to.”
“Do you think saying to a Jewish person that ‘Hitler was right’ is direct racial abuse?,” Barnett asked Tice.
The Reform deputy leader said: “Yes I do,” adding “I can’t believe anybody would have said that.”
Asked if that included the Reform leader, Tice said “yes”. He then said: “This is all made-up twaddle by people who don’t want Nigel to be prime minister of the country.
“Funny how they didn’t remember this three years, six years, ten years ago.”
Barnett corrected Tice, saying that “Peter Ettedgui did, he told Michael Crick some years ago [in 2013] of this […] He has never forgotten it.”
Barnett, who is herself Jewish, said: “Let me tell you if you are racially abused which you won’t have been Richard Tice, I suspect, you don’t tend to forget it, it gets etched in your memory.”
Reacting to Tice’s comments, the Labour party chair, Anna Turley, said that Farage and Tice should “urgently apologise”, rather than “repeatedly changing their story”.
“It took serious courage for the victims of Nigel Farage’s alleged racism to come forward and tell their story,” she said.
Turley added: “It’s utterly deplorable that Richard Tice has dismissed this and suggested they are lying, despite Farage himself refusing to offer a categorical denial and saying he couldn’t remember everything that happened at school.”
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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