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The UK's attorney general, Richard Hermer, has called on the Reform UK leader to apologise to former schoolmates who allege he targeted with racist abuse them during their years in education.

Hermer remarked that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, according to their descriptions of his alleged conduct. He added that the politician's "shifting" denials had been unconvincing.

“During his replies to valid inquiries, not once has Farage genuinely condemned antisemitism,” Hermer informed a news outlet.

New Allegations Come to Light

A series of inquiries last month detailed the accounts of several ex-pupils of Farage from a south London school.

One, Peter Ettedgui, described that a 13-year-old Farage "came up to me and growl: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘gas them’, sometimes adding a long hiss to imitate the sound of the Nazi gas chambers”.

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

“He walked up to a pupil accompanied by two similarly tall mates and targeted anyone looking ‘other’,” the former student said. “That included me on three occasions; inquiring where I was from, and pointing away, saying: ‘That's how you get back,’ to any place you replied you were from.”

Since then, others have come forward; approximately twenty people have now alleged they were either targets of or witnesses to deeply offensive conduct by Farage.

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

Evolving Explanations

The political figure has denied that anything he did was "directly" racist or antisemitic, and has claimed the former classmates were misremembering.

Critics have pointed out that Farage has failed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism outright in his statements.

They also reference his reluctance to discipline a fellow Reform MP, a MP, after she expressed views about the number of black and brown people she saw in adverts. She later said sorry for the comments.

“His constantly changing story about his behaviour to his peers [is] not credible, to say the least,” Hermer stated.

He continued: “Claiming that two dozen individuals have somehow misremembered the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply is not believable."

Call for Leadership

“If he wishes to be seen as a legitimate candidate for high office, he must address the fears of the Jewish community, and apologise to the numerous individuals he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer stated.

“Bigotry in all its forms is completely opposed to the principles of this country and we should not let it to ever become legitimised in society.”

In a different discussion, Rachel Reeves said Farage should “say something” if he wanted to look like a real leader.

“It says a lot how very little he has to say, and the guarded phrasing that both you and I would understand as being written in a certain style to communicate, but also dodge the issue,” she remarked.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In legal letters prior to the publication of the report, Farage’s representatives claimed that “the implication that Mr Farage ever was involved in, approved of, or led this behaviour is strongly rejected”.

Farage later altered his stance in an interview, stating: “Have I said things as a youth that you could view as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a modern light today in some way? Yes.”

He commented that he had “not ever purposely really tried to go and hurt anybody”. Farage later issued a fresh denial: “I can tell you definitely that I did not say the things that have been published when I was 13, decades in the past.”