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The UK's top law officer, Richard Hermer, has urged the Reform UK leader to apologise to school contemporaries who claim he targeted with racist abuse them during their school days.

Hermer stated that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, based on their testimonies of his alleged conduct. He noted that the leader's "constantly changing" explanations had been difficult to believe.

“Throughout his defensive responses to valid inquiries, not once has Farage actually condemned antisemitism,” Hermer informed a publication.

New Allegations Come to Light

A series of inquiries last month detailed the statements of several one-time schoolmates of Farage from a south London school.

One, Peter Ettedgui, recalled that a teenage Farage "came up to me and utter: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, at times making a long hiss to imitate 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 came over to a pupil accompanied by two equally tall mates and spoke to anyone looking ‘other’,” the individual said. “That included me on three separate times; inquiring where I was from, and gesturing, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to wherever you replied you were from.”

Since then, additional individuals have emerged; approximately twenty people have now stated they were either subject to or saw deeply offensive past behaviour by Farage.

The behaviour they described span the period when Farage was aged a teenager.

Changing Stories

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

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

They also reference his inability to discipline a colleague in his party, a MP, after she expressed views about the number of people of colour she saw in adverts. She later apologised for the statements.

“His shifting account about his behaviour to his schoolmates [is] unconvincing, to say the least,” Hermer said.

He continued: “Claiming that two dozen individuals have all recalled incorrectly the same things about his nasty behaviour simply is not believable."

Call for Leadership

“If he wishes to be seen as a legitimate candidate for high office, he has to confront the anxieties 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 principles of this country and we cannot allow it to ever become legitimised in politics.”

In a separate interview, the Chancellor said Farage should “make a statement” if he wanted to be considered a true statesman.

“It speaks volumes how very little he has to say, and the guarded phrasing that both you and I would identify as being drafted in a specific manner to say something, but also dodge the issue,” she said.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In lawyers' communications prior to the publication of the investigation, Farage’s representatives stated that “the allegation that Mr Farage ever took part in, supported, or led such conduct is strongly rejected”.

Farage later seemingly shifted his position in an interview, saying: “Have I said things decades ago that you could interpret as being playground talk, you could interpret in a modern light today in some way? Possibly.”

He said that he had “not once intentionally really tried to go and upset anybody”. Farage subsequently put out a fresh denial: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been published as a 13-year-old, nearly 50 years ago.”