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The United Kingdom's attorney general, Richard Hermer, has demanded the Reform UK leader to apologise to former schoolmates who claim he racially abused them during their years in education.

Hermer said that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, according to their descriptions of his actions as a youth. He commented that the leader's "shifting" explanations had been unconvincing.

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

Fresh Claims Come to Light

A series of inquiries last month detailed the statements of several ex-pupils of Farage from a south London school.

One, a former pupil, recalled that a teenage Farage "would approach me and utter: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, at times making a long hiss to simulate 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 came over to a pupil flanked by two equally tall mates and targeted anyone looking ‘different’,” the individual said. “That involved me on three occasions; asking me where I was from, and gesturing, saying: ‘That’s the way back,’ to any place you said you were from.”

After the story broke, others have stepped forward; approximately twenty people have now claimed they were either subject to or observed hurtful actions by Farage.

The behaviour they outlined cover the period when Farage was aged 13 to 18.

Changing Stories

The political figure has disputed that anything he did was "directly" racist or antisemitic, and has suggested the individuals were misremembering.

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

They also reference his reluctance to reprimand a colleague in his party, Sarah Pochin, after she complained about the number of black and brown people she saw in television commercials. She later apologised for the statements.

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

He went on to say: “Claiming that 20 people have somehow forgotten the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply is not believable."

Demand for Accountability

“If he wants to be seen as a serious contender for the top job, he urgently needs acknowledge the anxieties of the Jewish community, and say sorry to the those he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer concluded.

“Racism in all its forms is completely opposed to the principles of this country and we cannot allow it to ever become normalised in public life.”

In a separate interview, a senior politician said Farage should “make a statement” if he wanted to look like a genuine leader.

“It speaks volumes how very little he has to say, and the very careful language that both you and I would identify as being crafted in a certain style to communicate, but also not to say something,” she remarked.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In formal correspondence prior to the release of the investigation, Farage’s lawyers asserted that “the implication that Mr Farage ever took part in, approved of, or led such conduct is categorically denied”.

Farage later altered his stance in an interview, remarking: “Did I say things 50 years ago that you could see as being banter, you could interpret in a modern light today in some way? Perhaps.”

He added that he had “not once intentionally really tried to go and harm anybody”. Farage later 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.”