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The UK's attorney general, Richard Hermer, has demanded the Reform UK leader to issue an apology to former schoolmates who assert 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 commented that the leader's "shifting" explanations had been difficult to believe.

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

New Allegations Surface

A published report last month detailed the statements of several one-time schoolmates of Farage from Dulwich College.

One, a former pupil, said that a teenage Farage "would approach me and say: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘gas them’, sometimes adding a long hiss to imitate the sound of the Nazi gas chambers”.

Another student of colour stated that when he was roughly nine years old, he was singled out by a older Farage.

“He walked up to a pupil with two equally tall mates and addressed anyone looking ‘different’,” the former student said. “That happened to me on three occasions; asking me where I was from, and gesturing, saying: ‘That’s the way back,’ to any place you replied you were from.”

Since then, more people have emerged; around two dozen people have now alleged they were either subject to or saw hurtful conduct by Farage.

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

Evolving Explanations

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

Observers have noted that Farage has neglected to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism in a wider sense in his responses.

They also point to his failure to reprimand a colleague in his party, a MP, after she made remarks about the number of black and brown people she saw in adverts. She later expressed regret for the comments.

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

He added: “Suggesting that a group of people have all forgotten the same things about his nasty behaviour simply lacks credibility."

Demand for Accountability

“If he wants to be seen as a credible figure for high office, he urgently needs confront the fears of the Jewish people, and apologise to the many people he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer said.

“Racism in all its forms is completely opposed to the standards of this country and we should not let it to ever become accepted in public life.”

In a other comments, a senior politician said Farage should “speak out” if he wanted to appear as a real leader.

“It says a lot how very little he has to say, and the precisely drafted words that both you and I would recognise as being written in a specific manner to say something, but also avoid saying certain things,” she said.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In formal correspondence before the release of the investigation, Farage’s legal team asserted that “the allegation that Mr Farage ever took part in, approved of, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is completely refuted”.

Farage later altered his stance in an discussion, saying: “Did I say things as a youth that you could see as being playground talk, you could interpret in a contemporary context today in some way? Perhaps.”

He commented that he had “not ever purposely attempted to go and upset anybody”. Farage subsequently issued a fresh denial: “I can tell you definitely that I did not say the things that have been printed as a 13-year-old, so long ago.”