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The United Kingdom's top law officer, Richard Hermer, has demanded the Reform UK leader to apologise to school contemporaries who allege he racially abused them during their years in education.

Hermer said that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, based on their descriptions of his past behaviour. He added that the leader's "evolving" statements had been unconvincing.

“Throughout his defensive responses to legitimate questions, not once has Farage actually condemned antisemitism,” Hermer stated to a publication.

Further Testimonies Emerge

A recent investigation last month documented the accounts of more than a dozen one-time schoolmates of Farage from Dulwich College.

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

Another student of colour claimed that when he was about nine, he was subjected to similar treatment by a 17-year-old Farage.

“He came over to a pupil flanked by two equally tall mates and targeted anyone looking ‘different’,” 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 answered you were from.”

Since then, others have emerged; about 20 people have now stated they were either targets of or saw deeply offensive conduct by Farage.

The incidents they recounted span the period when Farage was aged between 13 and 18.

Changing Stories

The political figure has rejected that anything he did was "blatantly" racist or antisemitic, and has claimed the former classmates were misremembering.

Critics have highlighted that Farage has neglected to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism outright in his responses.

They also reference his failure to reprimand a colleague in his party, Sarah Pochin, after she made remarks about the number of black and brown people she saw in adverts. She later apologised for the remarks.

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

He went on to say: “Claiming that two dozen individuals have all recalled incorrectly the same things about his offensive behaviour simply lacks credibility."

Demand for Accountability

“If he wants to be seen as a serious contender for the top job, he must acknowledge the fears of the Jewish community, and say sorry to the many people he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer said.

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

In a other comments, Rachel Reeves said Farage should “make a statement” if he wanted to be considered 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 written in a specific manner to communicate, but also avoid saying certain things,” she said.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In formal correspondence prior to the publication of the investigation, Farage’s lawyers claimed that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever took part in, condoned, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is strongly rejected”.

Farage later altered his explanation in an appearance, saying: “Have I said things decades ago that you could interpret as being playground talk, you could interpret in a today's standards today in a certain manner? Possibly.”

He commented that he had “never directly sought to go and harm anybody”. Farage later issued a new statement: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been printed when I was 13, decades in the past.”