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The United Kingdom's top law officer, Richard Hermer, has demanded the Reform UK leader 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, based on their testimonies of his alleged conduct. He commented that the leader's "evolving" statements had been unconvincing.

“In his replies to legitimate questions, not once has Farage actually condemned antisemitism,” Hermer told a news outlet.

Fresh Claims Surface

A published report last month documented the statements of over a dozen former classmates of Farage from a private college.

One, Peter Ettedgui, described that a teenage Farage "came up to me and say: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘gas them’, occasionally including a long hiss to simulate the sound of the gas showers”.

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

“He came over to a pupil flanked by two tall mates and addressed anyone looking ‘different’,” the individual said. “That involved me on three occasions; inquiring where I was from, and gesturing, saying: ‘That's how you get back,’ to wherever you answered you were from.”

After the story broke, more people have come forward; around two dozen people have now stated they were either targets of or saw highly inappropriate conduct by Farage.

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

Evolving Explanations

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

Critics 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 reprimand a colleague in his party, a MP, after she expressed views about the number of ethnic minorities she saw in adverts. She later expressed regret for the comments.

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

He continued: “Arguing that a group of people have somehow misremembered the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply lacks credibility."

Question of Character

“If he wishes to be seen as a legitimate candidate for the top job, he has to acknowledge the fears of the Jewish community, and apologise to the numerous individuals he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer said.

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

In a other comments, the Chancellor said Farage should “speak out” if he wanted to look like a true statesman.

“It says a lot how very little he has to say, and the very careful language that both you and I would understand as being drafted in a certain style to communicate, but also not to say something,” she said.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In legal letters prior to the publication of the report, Farage’s representatives asserted that “the implication that Mr Farage ever took part in, condoned, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is strongly rejected”.

Farage later appeared to change his explanation in an discussion, stating: “Did I say things decades ago that you could see as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a today's standards today in some sort of way? Yes.”

He commented that he had “never directly really tried to go and hurt anybody”. Farage afterwards put out a fresh denial: “I can tell you unequivocally that I did not say the things that have been printed when I was 13, decades in the past.”