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The United Kingdom's attorney general, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has urged the Reform UK leader to apologise to school contemporaries who allege he racially abused them during their time at school.

Hermer stated that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, judging by their accounts of his actions as a youth. He noted that the leader's "constantly changing" denials had been unconvincing.

“In his answers to legitimate questions, not once has Farage genuinely condemned antisemitism,” Hermer told a publication.

Fresh Claims Come to Light

A published report last month outlined the testimony of more than a dozen ex-pupils of Farage from a private college.

One, Peter Ettedgui, recalled that a teenage Farage "would sidle up to me and utter: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘gas them’, sometimes adding a long hiss to imitate the sound of the Nazi gas chambers”.

Another pupil from an ethnic minority claimed that when he was roughly nine years old, he was singled out by a older Farage.

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

After the story broke, others have come forward; about 20 people have now claimed they were either victims of or saw highly inappropriate conduct by Farage.

The alleged events they described span the period when Farage was aged a teenager.

Changing Stories

The political figure has denied that anything he did was "explicitly" racist or antisemitic, and has asserted the former classmates were misremembering.

Critics have highlighted that Farage has neglected to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism outright in his responses.

They also point to his failure to discipline a party member, Sarah Pochin, after she made remarks about the number of people of colour she saw in television commercials. She later expressed regret for the remarks.

“His evolving narrative about his behaviour to his schoolmates [is] not credible, to say the least,” Hermer commented.

He went on to say: “Arguing that a group of people have all recalled incorrectly the same things about his nasty behaviour simply is not believable."

Call for Leadership

“If he wants to be seen as a credible figure for the top job, he urgently needs address the concerns of the Jewish people, and apologise to the numerous individuals he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer concluded.

“Racism in all its forms is abhorrent to the standards of this country and we cannot allow it to ever become legitimised in society.”

In a other comments, Rachel Reeves said Farage should “speak out” if he wanted to look like a real leader.

“It is very telling how very little he has to say, and the guarded phrasing that both you and I would recognise as being written in a specific manner to communicate, but also avoid saying certain things,” she noted.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In legal letters prior to the release of the report, Farage’s legal team asserted that “the allegation that Mr Farage ever took part in, supported, or led this behaviour is categorically denied”.

Farage later seemingly shifted his stance in an appearance, remarking: “Have I said things decades ago that you could view as being banter, you could interpret in a contemporary context today in some way? Yes.”

He said that he had “not ever purposely sought to go and harm anybody”. Farage afterwards put out a new statement: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been reported aged 13, decades in the past.”