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The UK's attorney general, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has demanded Nigel Farage to issue an apology to school contemporaries who allege he racially abused them during their years in education.

Hermer remarked that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, according to their accounts of his past behaviour. He commented that the leader's "evolving" statements had been difficult to believe.

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

Further Testimonies Surface

A series of inquiries last month detailed the statements of more than a dozen one-time schoolmates of Farage from a south London school.

One, Peter Ettedgui, said that a 13-year-old Farage "would sidle up to me and growl: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘gas them’, sometimes adding a long hiss to imitate the sound of the gas showers”.

Another student of colour alleged that when he was about nine, he was singled out by a older Farage.

“He came over to a pupil accompanied by two similarly tall mates and spoke to anyone looking ‘unusual’,” the former student said. “That happened to me on three occasions; questioning me where I was from, and motioning, saying: ‘That's how you get back,’ to any place you replied you were from.”

Since then, additional individuals have emerged; approximately twenty people have now alleged they were either targets of or witnesses to deeply offensive conduct by Farage.

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

Denials and Shifting Positions

The Reform leader has denied that anything he did was "directly" racist or antisemitic, and has asserted the accusers were not telling the truth.

Critics have pointed out that Farage has neglected to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism more broadly in his responses.

They also reference his reluctance to discipline a fellow Reform MP, a MP, after she complained about the number of black and brown people she saw in television commercials. She later apologised for the remarks.

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

He went on to say: “Claiming that a group of people have somehow forgotten the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply is not believable."

Call for Leadership

“If he wishes to be seen as a legitimate candidate for the top job, he urgently needs acknowledge the concerns of the Jewish community, and say sorry to the many people he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer stated.

“Bigotry in all its forms is anathema to the standards of this country and we cannot allow it to ever become accepted in public life.”

In a separate interview, Rachel Reeves said Farage should “say something” if he wanted to look like a genuine leader.

“It is very telling how very little he has to say, and the very careful language that both you and I would identify as being drafted in a specific manner to say something, but also avoid saying certain things,” she noted.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In lawyers' communications before the release of the report, Farage’s lawyers asserted that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever took part in, approved of, or led this behaviour is categorically denied”.

Farage later appeared to change his stance in an interview, stating: “Have I said things 50 years ago that you could see as being banter, you could interpret in a contemporary context today in some way? Perhaps.”

He said that he had “never directly attempted to go and upset anybody”. Farage later issued a further comment: “I can tell you definitely that I did not say the things that have been published as a 13-year-old, decades in the past.”