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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 remarked that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, judging by their testimonies of his past behaviour. He noted that the politician's "constantly changing" statements had been unconvincing.

“During his replies to legitimate questions, not once has Farage genuinely condemned antisemitism,” Hermer informed a publication.

Fresh Claims Come to Light

A series of inquiries last month documented the accounts of over a dozen former classmates of Farage from a south London school.

One, a former pupil, recalled that a 13-year-old Farage "came up to me and growl: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, occasionally including a long hiss to mimic the sound of the gas showers”.

Another student of colour claimed that when he was roughly nine years old, he was similarly targeted by a 17-year-old Farage.

“He approached a pupil with two tall mates and addressed anyone looking ‘unusual’,” the former student said. “That happened to me on three separate times; asking me where I was from, and gesturing, saying: ‘That’s the way back,’ to wherever you answered you were from.”

Since then, more people have come forward; approximately twenty people have now alleged they were either subject to or witnesses to highly inappropriate past behaviour by Farage.

The incidents they outlined relate to the period when Farage was aged between 13 and 18.

Denials and Shifting Positions

The political figure has rejected that anything he did was "directly" 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 responses.

They also point to his inability to reprimand a colleague in his party, a MP, after she complained about the number of people of colour she saw in television commercials. She later apologised for the remarks.

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

He added: “Claiming that 20 people have somehow recalled incorrectly the same things about his nasty behaviour simply isn’t credible."

Call for Leadership

“If he aspires to be seen as a legitimate candidate for high office, he urgently needs acknowledge the fears of the Jewish community, and apologise to the many people he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer said.

“Bigotry 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 different discussion, the Chancellor said Farage should “say something” if he wanted to look like a real 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 written in a specific manner to communicate, but also not to say something,” she said.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In formal correspondence prior to the publication of the report, Farage’s lawyers stated that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever engaged in, approved of, or led such conduct is categorically denied”.

Farage later seemingly shifted his stance in an interview, saying: “Did I say things decades ago that you could see as being banter, you could interpret in a modern light today in some sort of way? Possibly.”

He added that he had “not once intentionally attempted to go and harm anybody”. Farage afterwards issued a fresh denial: “I can tell you definitely that I did not say the things that have been published when I was 13, nearly 50 years ago.”