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The UK's attorney general, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has urged the Reform UK leader to apologise to former schoolmates who assert he racially abused them during their school days.

Hermer remarked that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, judging by their descriptions of his alleged conduct. He commented that the leader's "evolving" denials had been difficult to believe.

“In his answers to legitimate questions, not once has Farage actually condemned antisemitism,” Hermer stated to a publication.

New Allegations Surface

A series of inquiries last month documented the testimony of over a dozen one-time schoolmates of Farage from a private college.

One, Peter Ettedgui, said that a 13-year-old 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 simulate the sound of the gas showers”.

Another pupil from an ethnic minority stated that when he was about nine, he was subjected to similar treatment by a older Farage.

“He approached a pupil accompanied by two equally tall mates and addressed anyone looking ‘different’,” the person said. “That happened to me on three occasions; questioning me where I was from, and gesturing, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to any place you replied you were from.”

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

The incidents they described relate to the period when Farage was aged a teenager.

Denials and Shifting Positions

The Reform leader has rejected that anything he did was "directly" racist or antisemitic, and has claimed the accusers were misremembering.

Critics have highlighted that Farage has neglected to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism more broadly in his statements.

They also cite his reluctance to sanction a party member, Sarah Pochin, after she complained about the number of black and brown people she saw in adverts. She later expressed regret for the remarks.

“His evolving narrative about his behaviour to his peers [is] hard to believe, to say the least,” Hermer commented.

He went on to say: “Claiming that a group of people have all misremembered the same things about his nasty behaviour simply isn’t credible."

Call for Leadership

“If he wants to be seen as a legitimate candidate for the top job, he must acknowledge the anxieties of the Jewish community, and apologise to the those he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer concluded.

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

In a different discussion, the Chancellor said Farage should “speak out” if he wanted to appear as a genuine leader.

“It is very telling how little he has to say, and the guarded phrasing that both you and I would understand as being drafted in a certain style to say something, but also avoid saying certain things,” she remarked.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In formal correspondence prior to the publication of the investigation, Farage’s lawyers asserted that “the implication that Mr Farage ever took part in, condoned, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is categorically denied”.

Farage later seemingly shifted his position in an appearance, saying: “Did I say things decades ago that you could see as being playground talk, you could interpret in a contemporary context today in some sort of way? Yes.”

He said that he had “not ever purposely really tried to go and upset anybody”. Farage later put out a fresh denial: “I can tell you unequivocally that I did not say the things that have been reported when I was 13, nearly 50 years ago.”