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The United Kingdom's attorney general, Richard Hermer, has urged the Reform UK leader to issue an apology to school contemporaries who allege he racially abused them during their time at school.

Hermer said that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, judging by their testimonies of his actions as a youth. He commented that the politician's "constantly changing" statements had been unconvincing.

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

Fresh Claims Emerge

A series of inquiries last month documented the accounts of over a dozen one-time schoolmates of Farage from a private college.

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

Another pupil from an ethnic minority alleged that when he was about nine, he was subjected to similar treatment by a older Farage.

“He approached a pupil flanked by two equally tall mates and targeted anyone looking ‘unusual’,” the person said. “That included me on three occasions; inquiring where I was from, and motioning, saying: ‘That's how you get back,’ to wherever you said you were from.”

Since then, others have come forward; about 20 people have now claimed they were either victims of or observed deeply offensive actions by Farage.

The incidents they outlined span the period when Farage was aged 13 to 18.

Evolving Explanations

The Reform leader has rejected that anything he did was "blatantly" racist or antisemitic, and has suggested the former classmates were being untruthful.

Commentators have pointed out that Farage has neglected to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism more broadly in his responses.

They also reference his inability to reprimand a fellow Reform MP, Sarah Pochin, after she complained about the number of black and brown people she saw in television commercials. She later expressed regret for the statements.

“Nigel Farage’s constantly changing story about his behaviour to his schoolmates [is] unconvincing, to say the least,” Hermer stated.

He added: “Suggesting that two dozen individuals have somehow misremembered the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply is not believable."

Demand for Accountability

“If he wishes to be seen as a credible figure for the top job, he must address the anxieties of the Jewish community, and say sorry to the many people he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer concluded.

“Racism in all its forms is anathema to the principles of this country and we must not permit it to ever become legitimised in society.”

In a other comments, the Chancellor said Farage should “say something” if he wanted to look like a true statesman.

“It is very telling how very little he has to say, and the precisely drafted words that both you and I would identify as being drafted in a particular way to communicate, but also not to say something,” she remarked.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In formal correspondence before the publication of the investigation, Farage’s representatives claimed that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever engaged in, condoned, or led such conduct is completely refuted”.

Farage later seemingly shifted his explanation in an discussion, saying: “Did I say things 50 years ago that you could view as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a modern light today in some way? Perhaps.”

He added that he had “never directly sought to go and harm anybody”. Farage subsequently put out a new statement: “I can tell you definitely that I did not say the things that have been reported as a 13-year-old, decades in the past.”