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The UK's top law officer, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has called on the Reform UK leader to issue an apology to school contemporaries who assert he targeted with racist abuse them during their years in education.

Hermer stated that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, based on their accounts of his past behaviour. He commented that the leader's "constantly changing" explanations had been difficult to believe.

“Throughout his answers to legitimate questions, not once has Farage truly condemned antisemitism,” Hermer told a publication.

Fresh Claims Emerge

A recent investigation last month outlined the statements of more than a dozen one-time schoolmates of Farage from a south London school.

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

Another pupil from an ethnic minority claimed 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 equally tall mates and spoke to anyone looking ‘unusual’,” the person said. “That happened to me on three occasions; questioning me where I was from, and motioning, saying: ‘That's how you get back,’ to any place you replied you were from.”

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

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

Evolving Explanations

The political figure has disputed that anything he did was "directly" racist or antisemitic, and has claimed the former classmates were being untruthful.

Observers have pointed out that Farage has failed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism more broadly in his denials.

They also point to his failure to reprimand a party member, Sarah Pochin, after she complained about the number of people of colour she saw in adverts. She later said sorry for the statements.

“His evolving narrative about his behaviour to his Jewish classmates [is] hard to believe, to say the least,” Hermer commented.

He added: “Claiming that 20 people have somehow misremembered the same things about his offensive behaviour simply isn’t credible."

Demand for Accountability

“If he wishes to be seen as a serious contender for the top job, he must acknowledge the concerns of the Jewish people, and apologise to the those he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer stated.

“Prejudice in all its forms is abhorrent to the principles of this country and we must not permit it to ever become legitimised in politics.”

In a other comments, Rachel Reeves 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 recognise as being drafted in a certain style to say something, but also dodge the issue,” she remarked.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In lawyers' communications prior to the publication of the report, Farage’s representatives stated that “the implication that Mr Farage ever engaged in, supported, or led such conduct is strongly rejected”.

Farage later seemingly shifted his stance in an interview, saying: “Have I said things 50 years ago that you could interpret as being banter, you could interpret in a today's standards today in some way? Possibly.”

He said that he had “not once intentionally sought to go and hurt anybody”. Farage later put out a further comment: “I can tell you unequivocally that I did not say the things that have been published when I was 13, nearly 50 years ago.”