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The United Kingdom's top law officer, Richard Hermer, has called on the Reform UK leader to apologise to former schoolmates who claim he targeted with racist abuse them during their years in education.

Hermer said that Farage had "clearly deeply hurt" many people, based on their descriptions of his past behaviour. He noted that the leader's "constantly changing" explanations had been difficult to believe.

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

Further Testimonies Surface

A series of inquiries last month outlined the testimony of more than a dozen one-time schoolmates of Farage from a south London school.

One, a former pupil, recalled that a 13-year-old Farage "would approach me and utter: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, sometimes adding a long hiss to mimic 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 approached a pupil with two tall mates and spoke to anyone looking ‘unusual’,” the person said. “That included me on three separate times; questioning me where I was from, and gesturing, saying: ‘That's how you get back,’ to any place you replied you were from.”

Since then, more people have stepped forward; about 20 people have now stated they were either victims of or observed deeply offensive conduct by Farage.

The behaviour they outlined span the period when Farage was aged between 13 and 18.

Evolving Explanations

The Reform leader has denied that anything he did was "blatantly" racist or antisemitic, and has suggested the accusers were being untruthful.

Commentators have noted that Farage has failed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism more broadly in his statements.

They also reference his inability to discipline a party member, a MP, after she made remarks about the number of black and brown people she saw in television commercials. She later said sorry for the remarks.

“Nigel Farage’s constantly changing story about his behaviour to his peers [is] hard to believe, to say the least,” Hermer stated.

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

Call for Leadership

“If he aspires to be seen as a credible figure for high office, he has to confront the anxieties of the Jewish people, and apologise to the numerous individuals he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer concluded.

“Bigotry in all its forms is abhorrent to the principles of this country and we cannot allow it to ever become normalised in society.”

In a different discussion, the Chancellor said Farage should “speak out” 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 specific manner to communicate, but also avoid saying certain things,” she said.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In formal correspondence before the release of the report, Farage’s lawyers asserted that “the allegation that Mr Farage ever took part in, condoned, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is completely refuted”.

Farage later appeared to change his explanation in an interview, saying: “Did I say things 50 years ago that you could see as being playground talk, you could interpret in a today's standards today in some way? Perhaps.”

He commented that he had “not once intentionally really tried to go and harm anybody”. Farage subsequently issued a fresh denial: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been published when I was 13, so long ago.”