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The United Kingdom's attorney general, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has called on Nigel Farage to issue an apology to school contemporaries who allege he targeted with racist abuse them during their school days.

Hermer remarked that Farage had "clearly deeply hurt" many people, judging by their descriptions of his actions as a youth. He commented that the politician's "evolving" statements had been unconvincing.

“During his replies to valid inquiries, not once has Farage actually condemned antisemitism,” Hermer told a news outlet.

New Allegations Emerge

A published report last month detailed the accounts of several one-time schoolmates of Farage from a private college.

One, a former pupil, said that a teenage Farage "came up to me and say: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, occasionally including a long hiss to imitate the sound of the gas showers”.

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

“He came over to a pupil accompanied by two similarly tall mates and addressed anyone looking ‘unusual’,” the former student said. “That involved me on three occasions; asking me where I was from, and motioning, saying: ‘That's how you get back,’ to wherever you answered you were from.”

After the story broke, more people have come forward; approximately twenty people have now claimed they were either victims of or saw hurtful conduct by Farage.

The incidents they recounted relate to the period when Farage was aged between 13 and 18.

Changing Stories

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

Critics have pointed out that Farage has not managed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism more broadly in his responses.

They also reference his failure to sanction a party member, a MP, after she made remarks about the number of black and brown people she saw in adverts. She later expressed regret for the statements.

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

He continued: “Suggesting that two dozen individuals have somehow misremembered the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply lacks credibility."

Call for Leadership

“If he wishes to be seen as a serious contender for prime minister, he has to acknowledge the fears of the Jewish people, and say sorry to the those he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer concluded.

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

In a different discussion, Rachel Reeves said Farage should “make a statement” if he wanted to be considered a true statesman.

“It speaks volumes how little he has to say, and the guarded phrasing that both you and I would understand as being crafted in a specific manner to communicate, but also avoid saying certain things,” she said.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In formal correspondence prior to the release of the investigation, Farage’s legal team claimed that “the allegation that Mr Farage ever engaged in, supported, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is categorically denied”.

Farage later seemingly shifted his explanation in an discussion, saying: “Did I say things as a youth that you could interpret as being playground talk, you could interpret in a modern light today in a certain manner? Perhaps.”

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