Rory Stewart urges public to be 'more forgiving' of Nigel Farage’s school remarks in wake of anti-semitism claims
It comes after more than a dozen school contemporaries of the Reform UK leader claimed he made racist and antisemitic remarks while he attended prestigious private school Dulwich College
Former Tory MP Rory Stewart has urged people to be "a bit more forgiving" instead of judging others based on their actions as teenagers.
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Mr Stewart told Iain Dale that he'd rather judge Nigel Farage on his views, Brexit, and "lack of serious economics" than on his actions as a teenager.
It comes after more than a dozen school contemporaries of the Reform UK leader claimed he made racist and antisemitic remarks while he attended prestigious private school Dulwich College in a report in the Guardian.
The Guardian spoke to over 20 people who alleged racist or antisemitic behaviour by Farage at school, including seven people who recall the targeted abuse of Peter Ettedgui, now an Emmy- and Bafta-winning director.
Mr Ettedgui told the Guardian that Farage had “repeatedly” approached him and said “Hitler was right”, while they were both pupils at Dulwich College.
Mr Farage has denied the allegations.
Read more: Attorney general urges Nigel Farage to apologise over claims of racism and antisemitism
Mr Stewart said: "I think we need to be a bit more self-aware and sometimes I might even say a bit more forgiving.
"As a society, we're very, very judgmental, and I wonder whether everybody who is attacking him is as confident that they were perfectly behaved when they were 17 or 18, that they didn't do things as teenagers, which they would be ashamed of today."
Mr Stewart, who now presents a podcast with Alastair Campbell, added that many people are haunted by comments they've made on social media, but we need to accept that people can make mistakes and be forgiven.
At the end of November, broadcasters repeatedly asked Mr Farage whether he could rule out that he engaged in racial abuse.
“I would never, ever do it in a hurtful or insulting way,” he replied, later adding that if he had, it was “not with intent”.
The Reform leader then said that what could have been considered “banter in a playground” could be interpreted in “the modern light of day in some sort of way”.
Mr Stewart told LBC: "I want to attack Nigel Farage on his views, his catastrophic decision on Brexit. I want to attack him on his lack of seriousness on economics. I want to say he's not fit to be Prime Minister.
"But I don't want to make this an argument about what you did in your teens.
"You talk to teenagers, people in their early 20s, and they're haunted by stuff they've said on social media, recorded in videos, feel their whole lives are being surveilled and wrecked.
"We need to be able to accept that people have flaws, they make mistakes and they can be forgiven."