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The United Kingdom's attorney general, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has called on Nigel Farage to issue an apology to school contemporaries who allege he racially abused them during their years in education.

Hermer said that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, according to their testimonies of his past behaviour. He commented that the leader's "constantly changing" denials had been difficult to believe.

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

Further Testimonies Surface

A published report last month documented the statements of several former classmates of Farage from a private college.

One, Peter Ettedgui, described that a 13-year-old Farage "would approach me and say: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, sometimes adding a long hiss to simulate the sound of the gas showers”.

Another pupil from an ethnic minority 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 similarly tall mates and addressed anyone looking ‘other’,” the person said. “That happened to me on three separate times; inquiring where I was from, and pointing away, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to wherever you replied you were from.”

After the story broke, additional individuals have come forward; around two dozen people have now claimed they were either subject to or saw deeply offensive conduct by Farage.

The incidents they recounted span the period when Farage was aged a teenager.

Denials and Shifting Positions

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

Critics have pointed out that Farage has failed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism in a wider sense in his statements.

They also point to his failure to sanction a fellow Reform MP, Sarah Pochin, after she expressed views about the number of people of colour she saw in adverts. She later apologised for the statements.

“Nigel Farage’s shifting account about his behaviour to his peers [is] not credible, to say the least,” Hermer said.

He went on to say: “Arguing that two dozen individuals have all forgotten the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply isn’t credible."

Question of Character

“If he wishes to be seen as a legitimate candidate for the top job, he urgently needs acknowledge the concerns of the Jewish people, and say sorry to the those he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer concluded.

“Racism in all its forms is completely opposed to the standards of this country and we must not permit it to ever become accepted in politics.”

In a separate interview, the Chancellor said Farage should “speak out” if he wanted to be considered a real leader.

“It is very telling how little he has to say, and the very careful language that both you and I would recognise as being crafted in a certain style to say something, but also dodge the issue,” she noted.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In lawyers' communications prior to the publication of the report, Farage’s lawyers stated that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever engaged in, supported, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is completely refuted”.

Farage later appeared to change his stance in an discussion, stating: “Did I say things decades ago that you could see as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a contemporary context today in some sort of way? Possibly.”

He commented that he had “not ever purposely attempted to go and upset anybody”. Farage later put out 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.”