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The UK's attorney general, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has urged Nigel Farage to issue an apology to school contemporaries who allege he racially abused them during their school days.

Hermer remarked that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, judging by their descriptions of his alleged conduct. He noted that the politician's "evolving" explanations had been unconvincing.

“During his replies to valid inquiries, not once has Farage genuinely condemned antisemitism,” Hermer stated to a publication.

Fresh Claims Come to Light

A series of inquiries last month detailed the testimony of more than a dozen one-time schoolmates of Farage from a private college.

One, a former pupil, said that a teenage Farage "would approach me and say: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘gas them’, sometimes adding a long hiss to simulate the sound of the Nazi gas chambers”.

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

“He approached a pupil with two equally tall mates and targeted anyone looking ‘other’,” the individual said. “That included me on three separate times; inquiring where I was from, and motioning, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to any place you answered you were from.”

Since then, more people have come forward; about 20 people have now stated they were either targets of or saw hurtful past behaviour by Farage.

The incidents they outlined cover the period when Farage was aged a teenager.

Evolving Explanations

The Reform leader has denied that anything he did was "explicitly" racist or antisemitic, and has claimed the former classmates were misremembering.

Commentators have noted that Farage has not managed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism more broadly in his denials.

They also reference his inability to reprimand a fellow Reform MP, Sarah Pochin, after she expressed views about the number of black and brown people she saw in television commercials. She later expressed regret for the remarks.

“Nigel Farage’s shifting account about his behaviour to his Jewish classmates [is] unconvincing, to say the least,” Hermer stated.

He continued: “Suggesting that 20 people have somehow recalled incorrectly the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply lacks credibility."

Question of Character

“If he wants to be seen as a serious contender for the top job, he must address the concerns of the Jewish people, and apologise to the numerous individuals he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer said.

“Prejudice in all its forms is anathema to the values of this country and we should not let it to ever become accepted in society.”

In a different discussion, the Chancellor said Farage should “say something” if he wanted to be considered a genuine leader.

“It is very telling how little he has to say, and the guarded phrasing that both you and I would recognise as being drafted in a particular way to say something, but also not to say something,” she said.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In legal letters prior to the release of the report, Farage’s representatives claimed that “the implication that Mr Farage ever was involved in, supported, or led this behaviour is categorically denied”.

Farage later altered his stance in an discussion, remarking: “Have I said things as a youth that you could see as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a contemporary context today in some way? Possibly.”

He commented that he had “never directly really tried to go and harm anybody”. Farage afterwards released a fresh denial: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been reported as a 13-year-old, nearly 50 years ago.”