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The UK's attorney general, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has demanded Nigel Farage to apologise to former schoolmates who assert he targeted with racist abuse them during their time at school.

Hermer stated that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, judging by their testimonies of his alleged conduct. He commented that the politician's "constantly changing" denials had been less than credible.

“Throughout his replies to legitimate questions, not once has Farage truly condemned antisemitism,” Hermer stated to a publication.

Fresh Claims Surface

A published report last month outlined the accounts of over a dozen one-time schoolmates of Farage from a private college.

One, a former pupil, said that a teenage Farage "would sidle up to me and say: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘gas them’, sometimes adding a long hiss to mimic the sound of the Nazi gas chambers”.

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

“He approached a pupil flanked by two similarly tall mates and targeted anyone looking ‘other’,” the individual said. “That included me on three separate times; asking me where I was from, and pointing away, saying: ‘That’s the way back,’ to any place you said you were from.”

After the story broke, more people have come forward; around two dozen people have now claimed they were either victims of or witnesses to deeply offensive actions by Farage.

The alleged events they recounted relate to the period when Farage was aged 13 to 18.

Changing Stories

The Reform leader has disputed that anything he did was "explicitly" racist or antisemitic, and has claimed the individuals were being untruthful.

Observers have highlighted that Farage has not managed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism more broadly in his statements.

They also point to his failure to sanction a party member, a MP, after she expressed views about the number of black and brown people she saw in television commercials. She later apologised for the remarks.

“His shifting account about his behaviour to his schoolmates [is] hard to believe, to say the least,” Hermer said.

He continued: “Arguing that 20 people have all forgotten the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply is not believable."

Call for Leadership

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

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

In a separate interview, the Chancellor said Farage should “make a statement” if he wanted to be considered a real leader.

“It says a lot how very little he has to say, and the guarded phrasing that both you and I would identify as being written in a specific manner to communicate, but also not to say something,” she noted.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In legal letters prior to the publication of the investigation, Farage’s representatives stated that “the implication that Mr Farage ever took part in, supported, or led such conduct is categorically denied”.

Farage later seemingly shifted his explanation in an discussion, remarking: “Have I said things as a youth that you could view as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a contemporary context today in some way? Yes.”

He said that he had “not once intentionally attempted to go and upset anybody”. Farage subsequently released a new statement: “I can tell you definitely that I did not say the things that have been printed as a 13-year-old, nearly 50 years ago.”