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The United Kingdom's attorney general, Richard Hermer, has demanded the Reform UK leader to apologise to former schoolmates who assert he racially abused them during their years in education.

Hermer said that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, based on their descriptions of his actions as a youth. He added that the leader's "shifting" explanations had been difficult to believe.

“During his answers to valid inquiries, not once has Farage truly condemned antisemitism,” Hermer informed a news outlet.

Fresh Claims Surface

A series of inquiries last month detailed the testimony of several former classmates of Farage from Dulwich College.

One, Peter Ettedgui, described that a 13-year-old Farage "came up to me and say: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, occasionally including a long hiss to simulate the sound of the gas showers”.

Another minority ethnic pupil claimed that when he was roughly nine years old, he was subjected to similar treatment by a older Farage.

“He approached a pupil accompanied by two tall mates and targeted anyone looking ‘other’,” the former student said. “That included me on three occasions; asking me where I was from, and pointing away, saying: ‘That's how you get back,’ to wherever you said you were from.”

After the story broke, others have stepped forward; approximately twenty people have now alleged they were either targets of or witnesses to highly inappropriate past behaviour by Farage.

The behaviour they outlined span the period when Farage was aged between 13 and 18.

Changing Stories

The political figure has disputed that anything he did was "explicitly" racist or antisemitic, and has claimed the former classmates were not telling the truth.

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

They also point to his inability to sanction a party member, Sarah Pochin, after she complained about the number of people of colour she saw in adverts. She later said sorry for the remarks.

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

He continued: “Suggesting that a group of people have all recalled incorrectly the same things about his nasty behaviour simply is not believable."

Call for Leadership

“If he aspires to be seen as a serious contender for high office, he must acknowledge the anxieties of the Jewish people, and say sorry to the many people he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer said.

“Racism in all its forms is completely opposed to the values of this country and we cannot allow it to ever become normalised in politics.”

In a other comments, a senior politician said Farage should “make a statement” if he wanted to appear as a genuine leader.

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

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In formal correspondence prior to the release of the investigation, Farage’s representatives claimed that “the implication that Mr Farage ever was involved in, approved of, or led such conduct is completely refuted”.

Farage later seemingly shifted his explanation in an discussion, saying: “Did I say things 50 years ago that you could see as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a contemporary context today in a certain manner? Yes.”

He said that he had “not ever purposely attempted to go and hurt anybody”. Farage afterwards released a fresh denial: “I can tell you unequivocally that I did not say the things that have been reported when I was 13, decades in the past.”