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The UK's attorney general, Richard Hermer, has called on the Reform UK leader to apologise to school contemporaries who claim he racially abused them during their time at school.

Hermer stated that Farage had "clearly deeply hurt" many people, judging by their accounts of his actions as a youth. He added that the leader's "evolving" statements had been unconvincing.

“During his answers to valid inquiries, not once has Farage truly condemned antisemitism,” Hermer told a news outlet.

New Allegations Come to Light

A recent investigation last month outlined the accounts of over a dozen former classmates of Farage from a private college.

One, a former pupil, described that a teenage Farage "would approach me and growl: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, occasionally including a long hiss to imitate the sound of the gas showers”.

Another student of colour claimed that when he was roughly nine years old, he was similarly targeted by a older Farage.

“He walked up to a pupil flanked by two tall mates and addressed anyone looking ‘different’,” the person said. “That involved me on three separate times; asking me where I was from, and gesturing, saying: ‘That's how you get back,’ to any place you replied you were from.”

Following the initial report, more people have emerged; around two dozen people have now stated they were either targets of or saw deeply offensive actions by Farage.

The incidents they outlined cover the period when Farage was aged 13 to 18.

Denials and Shifting Positions

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

Critics have pointed out that Farage has not managed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism in a wider sense in his denials.

They also cite his failure to reprimand a party member, a MP, after she complained about the number of ethnic minorities she saw in television commercials. She later said sorry for the comments.

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

He continued: “Claiming that a group of people have all forgotten the same things about his offensive behaviour simply is not believable."

Demand for Accountability

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

“Racism in all its forms is anathema to the standards of this country and we should not let it to ever become legitimised in politics.”

In a different discussion, Rachel Reeves said Farage should “make a statement” if he wanted to be considered a genuine leader.

“It is very telling how little he has to say, and the very careful language that both you and I would understand as being written in a particular way to communicate, but also not to say something,” she noted.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In formal correspondence before the publication of the report, Farage’s legal team claimed that “the implication that Mr Farage ever took part in, supported, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is categorically denied”.

Farage later altered his explanation in an interview, saying: “Did I say things 50 years ago that you could view as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a contemporary context today in a certain manner? Possibly.”

He commented that he had “not ever purposely sought to go and hurt anybody”. Farage afterwards 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, nearly 50 years ago.”