Top Law Officer Demands Nigel Farage to Say Sorry Over Claimed Antisemitic and Racist Behaviour.

The United Kingdom's attorney general, Richard Hermer, has called on the Reform UK leader to issue an apology to former schoolmates who assert he racially abused them during their time at school.

Hermer stated that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, based on their descriptions of his past behaviour. He added that the politician's "evolving" denials had been less than credible.

“Throughout his answers to legitimate questions, not once has Farage actually condemned antisemitism,” Hermer told a news outlet.

Fresh Claims Surface

A recent investigation last month detailed the accounts of more than a dozen one-time schoolmates of Farage from a private college.

One, a former pupil, said that a teenage Farage "came up to me and growl: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, occasionally including a long hiss to simulate the sound of the gas showers”.

Another student of colour alleged that when he was about nine, he was subjected to similar treatment by a 17-year-old Farage.

“He approached a pupil with two equally tall mates and spoke to anyone looking ‘different’,” the person said. “That included me on three separate times; asking me where I was from, and motioning, saying: ‘That's how you get back,’ to wherever you replied you were from.”

After the story broke, additional individuals have stepped forward; around two dozen people have now stated they were either targets of or saw hurtful actions by Farage.

The behaviour they recounted relate to the period when Farage was aged a teenager.

Changing Stories

The political figure has rejected that anything he did was "directly" racist or antisemitic, and has claimed the individuals were not telling the truth.

Observers have noted that Farage has not managed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism outright in his denials.

They also reference his failure to discipline a party member, Sarah Pochin, after she expressed views about the number of people of colour she saw in adverts. She later said sorry for the comments.

“His constantly changing story about his behaviour to his schoolmates [is] unconvincing, to say the least,” Hermer said.

He went on to say: “Claiming that two dozen individuals have somehow misremembered the same things about his offensive behaviour simply lacks credibility."

Question of Character

“If he wants to be seen as a legitimate candidate for the top job, he has to confront the anxieties of the Jewish people, and apologise to the many people he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer said.

“Prejudice in all its forms is abhorrent to the standards of this country and we must not permit it to ever become normalised in society.”

In a different discussion, a senior politician said Farage should “say something” if he wanted to be considered a genuine leader.

“It speaks volumes how very little he has to say, and the precisely drafted words that both you and I would identify as being crafted in a particular way to communicate, but also avoid saying certain things,” she said.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In legal letters prior to the publication of the report, Farage’s legal team asserted that “the allegation that Mr Farage ever was involved in, approved of, or led this behaviour is categorically denied”.

Farage later appeared to change his explanation in an discussion, saying: “Did I say things as a youth that you could view as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a modern light today in some sort of way? Yes.”

He added that he had “never directly attempted to go and upset anybody”. Farage subsequently released a new statement: “I can tell you unequivocally that I did not say the things that have been published aged 13, nearly 50 years ago.”