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The UK's attorney general, Richard Hermer, has called on the Reform UK leader to apologise to school contemporaries who assert he racially abused them during their school days.

Hermer remarked that Farage had "clearly deeply hurt" many people, judging by their accounts of his actions as a youth. He commented that the leader's "evolving" denials had been unconvincing.

“In his defensive responses to legitimate questions, not once has Farage truly condemned antisemitism,” Hermer stated to a publication.

Fresh Claims Surface

A series of inquiries last month detailed the statements of over a dozen ex-pupils of Farage from Dulwich College.

One, Peter Ettedgui, described that a teenage Farage "came up to me and say: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, at times making a long hiss to simulate the sound of the Nazi gas chambers”.

Another minority ethnic pupil claimed that when he was roughly nine years old, he was similarly targeted by a older Farage.

“He came over to 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 motioning, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to any place you said you were from.”

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

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

Evolving Explanations

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

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

They also cite his failure to sanction a fellow Reform MP, Sarah Pochin, after she expressed views about the number of black and brown people she saw in adverts. She later said sorry for the remarks.

“Nigel Farage’s constantly changing story about his behaviour to his peers [is] unconvincing, to say the least,” Hermer commented.

He continued: “Claiming that a group of people have all misremembered the same things about his offensive behaviour simply is not believable."

Demand for Accountability

“If he wishes to be seen as a serious contender for high office, he urgently needs confront the concerns of the Jewish people, and apologise to the many people he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer said.

“Bigotry in all its forms is anathema to the standards of this country and we should not let it to ever become normalised in public life.”

In a different discussion, the Chancellor said Farage should “speak out” if he wanted to appear as a true statesman.

“It says a lot how little he has to say, and the very careful language that both you and I would recognise as being written in a particular way to say something, but also avoid saying certain things,” she remarked.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In legal letters before the publication of the report, Farage’s representatives asserted that “the allegation that Mr Farage ever engaged in, supported, or led such conduct is completely refuted”.

Farage later appeared to change his explanation in an appearance, remarking: “Did I say things decades ago that you could see as being playground talk, you could interpret in a contemporary context today in some sort of way? Possibly.”

He commented that he had “not once intentionally really tried to go and harm anybody”. Farage afterwards issued a further comment: “I can tell you definitely that I did not say the things that have been reported when I was 13, decades in the past.”