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The UK's top law officer, Richard Hermer, has urged Nigel Farage to issue an apology to former schoolmates who assert he racially abused them during their years in education.

Hermer remarked that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, based on their descriptions of his actions as a youth. He commented that the leader's "constantly changing" explanations had been difficult to believe.

“Throughout his defensive responses to legitimate questions, not once has Farage genuinely condemned antisemitism,” Hermer informed a news outlet.

Further Testimonies Come to Light

A series of inquiries last month documented the testimony of more than a dozen former classmates of Farage from Dulwich College.

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

Another student of colour claimed that when he was roughly nine years old, he was subjected to similar treatment by a 17-year-old Farage.

“He walked up to a pupil with two tall mates and targeted anyone looking ‘different’,” the former student said. “That included me on three occasions; inquiring where I was from, and pointing away, saying: ‘That’s the way back,’ to any place you answered you were from.”

Since then, additional individuals have emerged; around two dozen people have now alleged they were either victims of or saw highly inappropriate actions by Farage.

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

Evolving Explanations

The Reform leader has rejected that anything he did was "explicitly" racist or antisemitic, and has asserted the accusers were being untruthful.

Observers have pointed out that Farage has not managed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism outright in his denials.

They also reference his reluctance to discipline a colleague in his party, Sarah Pochin, after she expressed views about the number of black and brown people she saw in television commercials. She later said sorry for the statements.

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

He continued: “Claiming that a group of people have somehow forgotten the same things about his nasty behaviour simply lacks credibility."

Call for Leadership

“If he wishes to be seen as a legitimate candidate for prime minister, he must confront the concerns of the Jewish community, and apologise to the many people he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer stated.

“Prejudice in all its forms is completely opposed to the values of this country and we must not permit it to ever become legitimised in society.”

In a other comments, the Chancellor 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 guarded phrasing that both you and I would understand as being drafted in a certain style to say something, but also avoid saying certain things,” she noted.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In lawyers' communications prior to the publication of the report, Farage’s legal team asserted that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever engaged in, supported, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is strongly rejected”.

Farage later appeared to change his position in an interview, saying: “Did I say things decades ago that you could interpret as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a modern light today in some way? Possibly.”

He said that he had “not once intentionally sought to go and hurt anybody”. Farage subsequently put out a new statement: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been reported when I was 13, decades in the past.”