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The UK's top law officer, Richard Hermer, has called on the Reform UK leader to apologise to school contemporaries who assert he racially abused them during their school days.

Hermer said that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, according to their descriptions of his past behaviour. He noted that the leader's "shifting" statements had been difficult to believe.

“In his defensive responses to valid inquiries, not once has Farage truly condemned antisemitism,” Hermer informed a publication.

New Allegations Emerge

A recent investigation last month detailed the testimony of more than a dozen former classmates of Farage from a south London school.

One, a former pupil, recalled that a 13-year-old Farage "came up to me and utter: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, occasionally including a long hiss to imitate the sound of the gas showers”.

Another pupil from an ethnic minority alleged that when he was roughly nine years old, he was subjected to similar treatment by a older Farage.

“He approached a pupil accompanied by two equally tall mates and addressed anyone looking ‘different’,” the person said. “That happened to me on three occasions; inquiring where I was from, and gesturing, saying: ‘That’s the way back,’ to any place you said you were from.”

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

The incidents they described span the period when Farage was aged a teenager.

Evolving Explanations

The Reform leader has rejected that anything he did was "blatantly" racist or antisemitic, and has suggested the former classmates were not telling the truth.

Observers have pointed out that Farage has neglected to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism more broadly in his statements.

They also cite his inability to reprimand a colleague in his party, Sarah Pochin, after she expressed views about the number of ethnic minorities she saw in adverts. She later expressed regret for the statements.

“Nigel Farage’s shifting account about his behaviour to his peers [is] hard to believe, to say the least,” Hermer commented.

He added: “Claiming that two dozen individuals have all recalled incorrectly the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply is not believable."

Call for Leadership

“If he wants to be seen as a serious contender for the top job, he has to acknowledge the anxieties of the Jewish community, and say sorry to the numerous individuals he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer concluded.

“Racism in all its forms is anathema to the standards of this country and we cannot allow it to ever become legitimised in society.”

In a separate interview, a senior politician said Farage should “say something” if he wanted to look like a real leader.

“It speaks volumes how very little he has to say, and the very careful language that both you and I would recognise as being drafted in a certain style to communicate, but also dodge the issue,” she remarked.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In formal correspondence before the publication of the investigation, Farage’s lawyers asserted that “the implication 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 interview, stating: “Have I said things decades ago that you could view as being banter, you could interpret in a modern light today in a certain manner? Possibly.”

He added that he had “never directly really tried to go and upset anybody”. Farage afterwards released a fresh denial: “I can tell you definitely that I did not say the things that have been reported aged 13, so long ago.”