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The United Kingdom's top law officer, Richard Hermer, has urged the Reform UK leader to apologise to school contemporaries who assert he targeted with racist abuse them during their years in education.

Hermer said that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, judging by their testimonies of his past behaviour. He commented that the leader's "evolving" denials had been unconvincing.

“Throughout his replies to valid inquiries, not once has Farage truly condemned antisemitism,” Hermer informed a publication.

Further Testimonies Emerge

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

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

Another pupil from an ethnic minority alleged that when he was roughly nine years old, he was singled out by a older Farage.

“He came over to a pupil accompanied by two tall mates and spoke to anyone looking ‘other’,” the former student said. “That happened to me on three separate times; inquiring where I was from, and pointing away, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to any place you said you were from.”

Since then, others have emerged; around two dozen people have now claimed they were either subject to or witnesses to highly inappropriate past behaviour by Farage.

The incidents they outlined relate to the period when Farage was aged between 13 and 18.

Denials and Shifting Positions

The political figure has denied that anything he did was "directly" racist or antisemitic, and has suggested the accusers were misremembering.

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

They also point to his inability to discipline a colleague in his party, Sarah Pochin, after she made remarks about the number of ethnic minorities she saw in adverts. She later said sorry for the comments.

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

He added: “Arguing that two dozen individuals have somehow recalled incorrectly the same things about his nasty behaviour simply is not believable."

Demand for Accountability

“If he aspires to be seen as a legitimate candidate for prime minister, he has to address the anxieties 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 values of this country and we must not permit it to ever become accepted in public life.”

In a other comments, a senior politician said Farage should “make a statement” if he wanted to appear as a true statesman.

“It says a lot how very little he has to say, and the guarded phrasing that both you and I would understand as being written in a specific manner to communicate, but also dodge the issue,” she said.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In legal letters prior to the publication of the investigation, Farage’s legal team claimed that “the implication that Mr Farage ever engaged in, supported, or led such conduct is strongly rejected”.

Farage later altered his position in an discussion, saying: “Did I say things decades ago that you could interpret as being banter, you could interpret in a today's standards today in a certain manner? Perhaps.”

He added that he had “not once intentionally really tried to go and harm anybody”. Farage subsequently put out a new statement: “I can tell you definitely that I did not say the things that have been printed when I was 13, so long ago.”