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The United Kingdom's attorney general, Richard Hermer, has urged the Reform UK leader to apologise to former schoolmates who assert he racially abused them during their years in education.

Hermer stated that Farage had "clearly deeply hurt" many people, judging by their accounts of his actions as a youth. He noted that the leader's "shifting" statements had been less than credible.

“In his answers to valid inquiries, not once has Farage genuinely condemned antisemitism,” Hermer informed a publication.

Further Testimonies Surface

A published report last month outlined the statements of more than a dozen ex-pupils of Farage from a south London school.

One, a former pupil, recalled that a 13-year-old Farage "came up to me and utter: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, sometimes adding a long hiss to mimic the sound of the Nazi gas chambers”.

Another minority ethnic pupil stated that when he was roughly nine years old, he was subjected to similar treatment by a 17-year-old Farage.

“He walked up to a pupil flanked by two equally tall mates and targeted anyone looking ‘different’,” the individual said. “That involved me on three separate times; inquiring where I was from, and motioning, saying: ‘That's how you get back,’ to any place you said you were from.”

Following the initial report, others have come forward; around two dozen people have now alleged they were either victims of or witnesses to highly inappropriate past behaviour by Farage.

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

Denials and Shifting Positions

The Reform leader has rejected that anything he did was "blatantly" racist or antisemitic, and has asserted the former classmates were not telling the truth.

Commentators have noted that Farage has failed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism outright in his responses.

They also cite his reluctance to reprimand a fellow Reform MP, Sarah Pochin, after she expressed views about the number of people of colour 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 said.

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

Call for Leadership

“If he wishes to be seen as a credible figure for the top job, he must confront the fears of the Jewish people, and say sorry to the numerous individuals he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer stated.

“Bigotry in all its forms is completely opposed to the values of this country and we should not let it to ever become legitimised in public life.”

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

“It speaks volumes how little he has to say, and the very careful language that both you and I would identify as being written in a certain style to communicate, but also dodge the issue,” she noted.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In formal correspondence prior to the release of the investigation, Farage’s representatives stated that “the implication that Mr Farage ever was involved in, approved of, or led such conduct is strongly rejected”.

Farage later appeared to change his explanation in an appearance, remarking: “Did I say things as a youth that you could see as being playground talk, you could interpret in a modern light today in some sort of way? Yes.”

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