Farage turns on broadcasters over racism allegations as number of claims hits 28

Nigel Farage has turned on broadcasters for questioning him about his alleged teenage racism and antisemitism as the number of school contemporaries who recalled such behaviour to the Guardian reached 28.

In an angry performance at a press conference in London, the Reform leader suggested he would boycott the BBC and said ITV had their own case to answer, as he repeatedly shouted “Bernard Manning”.

Manning, a comedian from Manchester who died in 2007, was a regular face on British television in the 1970s, but he drifted from the public eye after claims that his material was racist and misogynistic.

The intemperate performance by Farage, whose party has slipped in the national polls in recent weeks, came as a further five school contemporaries came forward to the Guardian with allegation