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The United Kingdom's top law officer, Richard Hermer, has urged the Reform UK leader to issue an apology to school contemporaries who allege he targeted with racist abuse them during their school days.

Hermer remarked that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, based on their descriptions of his actions as a youth. He noted that the leader's "evolving" statements had been unconvincing.

“Throughout his defensive responses to valid inquiries, not once has Farage truly condemned antisemitism,” Hermer informed a publication.

Fresh Claims Emerge

A recent investigation last month outlined the statements of more than a dozen former classmates of Farage from a south London school.

One, Peter Ettedgui, described that a teenage Farage "came up to me and growl: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, sometimes adding a long hiss to imitate the sound of the gas showers”.

Another minority ethnic pupil stated that when he was about nine, he was similarly targeted by a 17-year-old Farage.

“He approached a pupil with two equally tall mates and spoke to anyone looking ‘different’,” the former student said. “That happened to me on three separate times; inquiring where I was from, and gesturing, saying: ‘That’s the way back,’ to wherever you said you were from.”

Following the initial report, more people have emerged; around two dozen people have now claimed they were either victims of or witnesses to deeply offensive actions by Farage.

The alleged events they outlined relate to the period when Farage was aged a teenager.

Changing Stories

The political figure has denied that anything he did was "blatantly" racist or antisemitic, and has claimed the former classmates were not telling the truth.

Commentators have noted that Farage has failed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism more broadly in his statements.

They also point to his inability to discipline a party member, a MP, after she complained about the number of ethnic minorities she saw in adverts. She later apologised for the remarks.

“Nigel Farage’s constantly changing story about his behaviour to his Jewish classmates [is] hard to believe, to say the least,” Hermer commented.

He added: “Suggesting that two dozen individuals have somehow recalled incorrectly the same things about his offensive behaviour simply isn’t credible."

Call for Leadership

“If he wishes to be seen as a credible figure for prime minister, he must acknowledge the concerns of the Jewish community, and apologise to the many people he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer concluded.

“Prejudice in all its forms is anathema to the values of this country and we must not permit it to ever become accepted in politics.”

In a different discussion, a senior politician said Farage should “make a statement” if he wanted to appear as a true statesman.

“It is very telling how little he has to say, and the very careful language that both you and I would identify as being written in a specific manner to say something, but also not to say something,” she noted.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In legal letters prior to the publication of the report, Farage’s representatives stated that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever engaged in, approved of, or led this behaviour is completely refuted”.

Farage later altered his explanation in an interview, stating: “Have I said things 50 years ago that you could see as being playground talk, you could interpret in a today's standards today in some sort of way? Yes.”

He said that he had “not ever purposely attempted to go and hurt anybody”. Farage later issued a new statement: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been reported aged 13, nearly 50 years ago.”