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The UK's attorney general, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has called on Nigel Farage to issue an apology to former schoolmates who assert he racially abused them during their school days.

Hermer remarked that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, based on their accounts of his actions as a youth. He added that the politician's "constantly changing" explanations had been unconvincing.

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

Further Testimonies Emerge

A published report last month outlined the accounts of more than a dozen ex-pupils of Farage from Dulwich College.

One, a former pupil, said that a teenage Farage "came up to me and utter: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, sometimes adding a long hiss to mimic the sound of the gas showers”.

Another minority ethnic pupil claimed 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 spoke to anyone looking ‘different’,” the person said. “That included me on three separate times; questioning me where I was from, and pointing away, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to any place you answered you were from.”

Since then, more people have stepped forward; about 20 people have now stated they were either targets of or witnesses to deeply offensive actions by Farage.

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

Evolving Explanations

The Reform leader has disputed that anything he did was "blatantly" racist or antisemitic, and has asserted the accusers were misremembering.

Commentators have noted that Farage has neglected to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism more broadly in his denials.

They also point to his inability to sanction a party member, a MP, after she made remarks about the number of ethnic minorities she saw in television commercials. She later expressed regret for the statements.

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

He continued: “Suggesting that a group of people have somehow recalled incorrectly the same things about his nasty behaviour simply lacks credibility."

Demand for Accountability

“If he wishes to be seen as a serious contender for prime minister, he urgently needs address the fears of the Jewish people, and apologise to the many people he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer concluded.

“Racism in all its forms is completely opposed to the standards of this country and we must not permit it to ever become legitimised in politics.”

In a separate interview, the Chancellor said Farage should “make a statement” if he wanted to appear as a real leader.

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

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In lawyers' communications prior to the publication of the report, Farage’s legal team asserted that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever engaged in, approved of, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is strongly rejected”.

Farage later seemingly shifted his stance in an discussion, stating: “Have I said things 50 years ago that you could see as being playground talk, you could interpret in a contemporary context today in a certain manner? Perhaps.”

He added that he had “never directly really tried to go and hurt anybody”. Farage later released a further comment: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been published as a 13-year-old, nearly 50 years ago.”