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The UK's top law officer, Richard Hermer, has urged the Reform UK leader to apologise to school contemporaries who allege he targeted with racist abuse them during their time at school.

Hermer stated that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, judging by their descriptions of his actions as a youth. He noted that the politician's "constantly changing" statements had been less than credible.

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

Fresh Claims Surface

A series of inquiries last month detailed the statements of over a dozen ex-pupils of Farage from a private college.

One, Peter Ettedgui, described that a teenage Farage "would sidle 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 Nazi gas chambers”.

Another minority ethnic pupil alleged that when he was about nine, he was singled out by a older Farage.

“He came over to a pupil accompanied by two equally tall mates and targeted anyone looking ‘other’,” the individual said. “That included me on three occasions; asking me where I was from, and pointing away, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to any place you said you were from.”

Following the initial report, others have emerged; around two dozen people have now stated they were either targets of or witnesses to hurtful conduct by Farage.

The alleged events they outlined relate to the period when Farage was aged a teenager.

Denials and Shifting Positions

The Reform leader has rejected that anything he did was "blatantly" racist or antisemitic, and has claimed the individuals were not telling the truth.

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

They also reference his inability to reprimand a colleague in his party, a MP, after she complained about the number of black and brown people she saw in adverts. She later said sorry for the comments.

“Nigel Farage’s shifting account about his behaviour to his schoolmates [is] not credible, to say the least,” Hermer said.

He went on to say: “Claiming that two dozen individuals have all forgotten the same things about his offensive behaviour simply lacks credibility."

Demand for Accountability

“If he aspires to be seen as a legitimate candidate for high office, he has to acknowledge the concerns of the Jewish community, and apologise to the those he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer stated.

“Racism in all its forms is anathema to the principles of this country and we must not permit it to ever become accepted in politics.”

In a other comments, a senior politician said Farage should “speak out” if he wanted to appear as a genuine 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 investigation, Farage’s lawyers claimed that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever engaged in, approved of, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is completely refuted”.

Farage later seemingly shifted his stance in an interview, saying: “Have I said things as a youth that you could view as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a today's standards today in a certain manner? Possibly.”

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