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The UK's attorney general, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has demanded Nigel Farage to apologise to school contemporaries who allege he targeted with racist abuse them during their school days.

Hermer stated that Farage had "clearly deeply hurt" many people, based on their testimonies of his actions as a youth. He commented that the politician's "evolving" statements had been less than credible.

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

Fresh Claims Come to Light

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

One, Peter Ettedgui, described that a teenage Farage "came up to me and growl: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘gas them’, sometimes adding a long hiss to simulate the sound of the Nazi gas chambers”.

Another minority ethnic pupil alleged that when he was roughly nine years old, he was subjected to similar treatment by a 17-year-old Farage.

“He walked up to a pupil flanked by two similarly tall mates and targeted anyone looking ‘different’,” the person said. “That involved me on three occasions; questioning me where I was from, and gesturing, saying: ‘That's how you get back,’ to wherever you said you were from.”

Since then, additional individuals have emerged; about 20 people have now claimed they were either victims of or observed hurtful actions by Farage.

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

Changing Stories

The Reform leader has rejected that anything he did was "explicitly" racist or antisemitic, and has suggested the individuals were not telling the truth.

Observers have pointed out that Farage has neglected to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism outright in his responses.

They also point to his failure to discipline a party member, Sarah Pochin, after she made remarks about the number of people of colour she saw in adverts. She later expressed regret for the remarks.

“His constantly changing story about his behaviour to his peers [is] not credible, to say the least,” Hermer commented.

He continued: “Claiming that two dozen individuals have somehow forgotten the same things about his offensive behaviour simply isn’t credible."

Demand for Accountability

“If he wishes to be seen as a credible figure for prime minister, he has to confront the fears of the Jewish community, and apologise to the those he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer said.

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

In a different discussion, Rachel Reeves said Farage should “speak out” if he wanted to be considered a genuine leader.

“It speaks volumes how little he has to say, and the very careful language that both you and I would recognise as being drafted in a certain style to say something, but also avoid saying certain things,” she noted.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In lawyers' communications before the publication of the investigation, Farage’s lawyers claimed that “the implication that Mr Farage ever was involved in, approved of, or led such conduct is strongly rejected”.

Farage later appeared to change his stance in an interview, saying: “Did I say things decades ago that you could interpret as being playground talk, you could interpret in a modern light today in some sort of way? Perhaps.”

He added that he had “not once intentionally really tried to go and harm anybody”. Farage later issued a fresh denial: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been published aged 13, decades in the past.”