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The United Kingdom's top law officer, Richard Hermer, has urged the Reform UK leader to issue an apology to school contemporaries who assert he racially abused them during their time at school.

Hermer said that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, based on their testimonies of his past behaviour. He added that the politician's "constantly changing" explanations had been unconvincing.

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

Further Testimonies Emerge

A published report last month documented the statements of several ex-pupils of Farage from a south London school.

One, Peter Ettedgui, described that a teenage Farage "would approach me and utter: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, sometimes adding a long hiss to imitate the sound of the gas showers”.

Another pupil from an ethnic minority alleged that when he was roughly nine years old, he was subjected to similar treatment by a older Farage.

“He walked up to a pupil with two similarly tall mates and spoke to anyone looking ‘other’,” the person said. “That happened to me on three separate times; questioning me where I was from, and pointing away, saying: ‘That's how you get back,’ to any place you answered you were from.”

After the story broke, additional individuals have emerged; about 20 people have now claimed they were either victims of or witnesses to highly inappropriate actions by Farage.

The behaviour they recounted cover the period when Farage was aged between 13 and 18.

Denials and Shifting Positions

The political figure has denied that anything he did was "explicitly" racist or antisemitic, and has claimed the former classmates were not telling the truth.

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

They also reference his inability to discipline a party member, Sarah Pochin, after she complained about the number of ethnic minorities she saw in television commercials. She later expressed regret for the statements.

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

He added: “Claiming that a group of people have all recalled incorrectly the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply lacks credibility."

Question of Character

“If he aspires to be seen as a serious contender for high office, he has to confront the anxieties of the Jewish community, and say sorry to the many people he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer concluded.

“Prejudice in all its forms is completely opposed to the values of this country and we should not let it to ever become normalised in politics.”

In a separate interview, Rachel Reeves said Farage should “speak out” if he wanted to look like a real leader.

“It is very telling how very little he has to say, and the precisely drafted words that both you and I would understand as being drafted in a particular way to say something, but also not to say something,” she said.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In formal correspondence before the publication of the investigation, Farage’s legal team stated that “the allegation that Mr Farage ever took part in, condoned, or led such conduct is completely refuted”.

Farage later altered his stance in an appearance, remarking: “Did I say things 50 years ago that you could see as being playground talk, you could interpret in a modern light today in some way? Perhaps.”

He added that he had “not once intentionally really tried to go and harm anybody”. Farage subsequently put out a fresh denial: “I can tell you definitely that I did not say the things that have been reported as a 13-year-old, decades in the past.”