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The United Kingdom's top law officer, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has called on the Reform UK leader to issue an apology to school contemporaries who assert he racially abused them during their years in education.

Hermer remarked that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, based on their descriptions of his actions as a youth. He commented that the leader's "constantly changing" statements had been unconvincing.

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

Further Testimonies Emerge

A series of inquiries last month detailed the accounts of several ex-pupils of Farage from Dulwich College.

One, a former pupil, described that a teenage Farage "came up to me and growl: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘gas them’, occasionally including a long hiss to mimic the sound of the Nazi gas chambers”.

Another minority ethnic pupil stated that when he was roughly nine years old, he was similarly targeted by a older Farage.

“He approached a pupil accompanied by two similarly tall mates and spoke to anyone looking ‘different’,” the person said. “That included me on three occasions; asking me where I was from, and motioning, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to any place you replied you were from.”

Following the initial report, more people have emerged; approximately twenty people have now claimed they were either targets of or observed hurtful actions by Farage.

The alleged events they outlined relate to the period when Farage was aged a teenager.

Changing Stories

The Reform leader has denied that anything he did was "blatantly" racist or antisemitic, and has asserted the individuals were not telling the truth.

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

They also point to his failure to sanction a party member, Sarah Pochin, after she complained about the number of ethnic minorities she saw in adverts. She later apologised for the comments.

“Nigel Farage’s evolving narrative about his behaviour to his Jewish classmates [is] hard to believe, to say the least,” Hermer said.

He added: “Arguing that 20 people have all forgotten the same things about his offensive behaviour simply isn’t credible."

Call for Leadership

“If he wishes to be seen as a legitimate candidate for the top job, he urgently needs address the fears of the Jewish community, and say sorry to the those he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer concluded.

“Bigotry in all its forms is completely opposed to the values of this country and we must not permit it to ever become legitimised in public life.”

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

“It speaks volumes how little he has to say, and the very careful language that both you and I would understand as being drafted in a particular way to say something, but also dodge the issue,” she noted.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In legal letters before the publication of the report, Farage’s representatives claimed that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever engaged in, supported, or led such conduct is completely refuted”.

Farage later seemingly shifted his position in an interview, stating: “Did I say things decades ago that you could interpret as being playground talk, you could interpret in a contemporary context today in a certain manner? Perhaps.”

He said that he had “never directly really tried to go and harm anybody”. Farage later put out a new statement: “I can tell you unequivocally that I did not say the things that have been printed as a 13-year-old, decades in the past.”