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The UK's attorney general, Richard Hermer, has called on the Reform UK leader to apologise to school contemporaries who claim he racially abused them during their years in education.

Hermer said that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, judging by their descriptions of his past behaviour. He commented that the politician's "shifting" statements had been less than credible.

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

New Allegations Come to Light

A recent investigation last month documented the statements of more than a dozen former classmates of Farage from a private college.

One, Peter Ettedgui, described that a teenage Farage "would sidle up to me and say: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘gas them’, at times making a long hiss to mimic the sound of the gas showers”.

Another pupil from an ethnic minority stated that when he was roughly nine years old, he was subjected to similar treatment by a 17-year-old Farage.

“He came over to a pupil with two tall mates and spoke to anyone looking ‘other’,” the former student said. “That included me on three separate times; questioning me where I was from, and gesturing, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to wherever you answered you were from.”

After the story broke, additional individuals have stepped forward; approximately twenty people have now alleged they were either victims of or observed highly inappropriate actions by Farage.

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

Evolving Explanations

The Reform leader has denied that anything he did was "directly" racist or antisemitic, and has asserted the former classmates were misremembering.

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

They also point to his reluctance to sanction a party member, a MP, after she made remarks about the number of people of colour she saw in television commercials. She later expressed regret for the comments.

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

He continued: “Suggesting that a group of people have all recalled incorrectly the same things about his nasty behaviour simply isn’t credible."

Call for Leadership

“If he wishes to be seen as a serious contender for high office, he must acknowledge the fears 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 should not let it to ever become normalised in society.”

In a different discussion, Rachel Reeves said Farage should “say something” if he wanted to appear as a real leader.

“It says a lot how little he has to say, and the precisely drafted words that both you and I would recognise as being drafted in a specific manner to say something, but also not to say something,” she remarked.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In formal correspondence before the publication of the report, Farage’s lawyers stated that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever engaged in, supported, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is strongly rejected”.

Farage later altered his explanation in an interview, stating: “Have I said things decades ago that you could view as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a modern light today in some way? Perhaps.”

He said that he had “not once intentionally sought to go and harm anybody”. Farage subsequently issued a fresh denial: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been reported when I was 13, decades in the past.”