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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 allege he racially abused them during their time at school.

Hermer stated that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, based on their testimonies of his actions as a youth. He commented that the politician's "evolving" denials had been difficult to believe.

“Throughout his defensive responses to legitimate questions, not once has Farage truly condemned antisemitism,” Hermer told a news outlet.

Fresh Claims Emerge

A published report last month outlined the statements of over a dozen former classmates of Farage from Dulwich College.

One, a former pupil, said that a 13-year-old Farage "came up to me and utter: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, sometimes adding a long hiss to imitate the sound of the Nazi gas chambers”.

Another pupil from an ethnic minority claimed that when he was about nine, he was subjected to similar treatment by a 17-year-old Farage.

“He approached a pupil accompanied by two tall mates and spoke to anyone looking ‘different’,” the individual said. “That included me on three separate times; inquiring where I was from, and gesturing, saying: ‘That’s the way back,’ to any place you replied you were from.”

Since then, additional individuals have stepped forward; about 20 people have now alleged they were either targets of or observed hurtful past behaviour by Farage.

The alleged events they recounted cover the period when Farage was aged between 13 and 18.

Denials and Shifting Positions

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

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

They also point to his reluctance to sanction a fellow Reform MP, a MP, after she expressed views about the number of black and brown people she saw in adverts. She later expressed regret for the comments.

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

He added: “Arguing that two dozen individuals have somehow forgotten the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply isn’t credible."

Question of Character

“If he wishes to be seen as a credible figure for the top job, he must address the concerns of the Jewish people, and apologise to the many people he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer said.

“Bigotry in all its forms is abhorrent to the values of this country and we must not permit it to ever become accepted in public life.”

In a other comments, the Chancellor said Farage should “say something” if he wanted to look like 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 avoid saying certain things,” she noted.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In lawyers' communications prior to the publication of the report, Farage’s lawyers asserted that “the implication that Mr Farage ever took part in, supported, or led this behaviour is completely refuted”.

Farage later appeared to change his explanation in an interview, stating: “Did I say things 50 years ago that you could see as being banter, you could interpret in a modern light today in some sort of way? Yes.”

He added that he had “never directly really tried to go and upset anybody”. Farage afterwards issued a further comment: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been reported when I was 13, decades in the past.”