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The UK's attorney general, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has urged Nigel Farage to apologise to former schoolmates who claim he racially abused them during their years in education.

Hermer remarked that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, judging by their accounts of his alleged conduct. He commented that the leader's "shifting" explanations had been difficult to believe.

“Throughout his answers to legitimate questions, not once has Farage genuinely condemned antisemitism,” Hermer told a news outlet.

New Allegations Emerge

A series of inquiries last month documented the testimony of more than a dozen one-time schoolmates of Farage from Dulwich College.

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

Another minority ethnic pupil claimed that when he was about nine, he was similarly targeted by a older Farage.

“He walked up to a pupil flanked by two tall mates and spoke to anyone looking ‘different’,” the individual said. “That included me on three separate times; inquiring where I was from, and pointing away, saying: ‘That’s the way back,’ to wherever you answered you were from.”

After the story broke, additional individuals have stepped forward; around two dozen people have now alleged they were either victims of or witnesses to hurtful conduct by Farage.

The alleged events they described cover the period when Farage was aged between 13 and 18.

Changing Stories

The political figure has rejected that anything he did was "directly" racist or antisemitic, and has claimed the individuals were misremembering.

Observers have pointed out that Farage has neglected to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism outright in his responses.

They also reference his failure to reprimand a fellow Reform MP, a MP, after she expressed views about the number of black and brown people she saw in adverts. She later apologised for the remarks.

“Nigel Farage’s evolving narrative about his behaviour to his schoolmates [is] unconvincing, to say the least,” Hermer said.

He continued: “Arguing that 20 people have somehow recalled incorrectly the same things about his offensive behaviour simply lacks credibility."

Call for Leadership

“If he wishes to be seen as a serious contender for the top job, he urgently needs confront the anxieties of the Jewish people, and apologise to the numerous individuals he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer stated.

“Bigotry in all its forms is anathema to the values of this country and we cannot allow it to ever become normalised in politics.”

In a separate interview, the Chancellor said Farage should “say something” if he wanted to be considered a genuine leader.

“It is very telling how little he has to say, and the precisely drafted words that both you and I would recognise as being drafted in a certain style to say something, but also dodge the issue,” she remarked.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In lawyers' communications before the release of the investigation, Farage’s representatives stated that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever was involved in, supported, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is completely refuted”.

Farage later altered his stance in an interview, stating: “Did I say things decades ago that you could view as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a today's standards today in some sort of way? Perhaps.”

He said that he had “never directly attempted to go and hurt anybody”. Farage subsequently put out a new statement: “I can tell you unequivocally that I did not say the things that have been reported aged 13, decades in the past.”