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The UK's attorney general, Richard Hermer, has demanded the Reform UK leader to apologise to school contemporaries who claim he targeted with racist abuse them during their time at school.

Hermer stated that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, based on their testimonies of his actions as a youth. He noted that the leader's "evolving" explanations had been less than credible.

“During his defensive responses to valid inquiries, not once has Farage genuinely condemned antisemitism,” Hermer stated to a publication.

New Allegations Surface

A published report last month outlined the statements of over a dozen ex-pupils of Farage from a south London school.

One, a former pupil, said that a 13-year-old 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 mimic the sound of the gas showers”.

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

“He walked up to a pupil accompanied by two equally tall mates and addressed anyone looking ‘other’,” the former student said. “That happened to me on three occasions; asking me where I was from, and pointing away, saying: ‘That’s the way back,’ to wherever you said you were from.”

Since then, more people have come forward; approximately twenty people have now claimed they were either subject to or saw deeply offensive conduct by Farage.

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

Evolving Explanations

The Reform leader has rejected that anything he did was "directly" racist or antisemitic, and has claimed the former classmates were being untruthful.

Critics have noted that Farage has failed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism more broadly in his statements.

They also reference his failure to sanction a colleague in his party, a MP, after she made remarks about the number of ethnic minorities she saw in television commercials. She later said sorry for the remarks.

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

He continued: “Arguing that a group of people have all recalled incorrectly the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply isn’t credible."

Question of Character

“If he wants to be seen as a serious contender for high office, he urgently needs acknowledge the concerns of the Jewish community, and apologise to the those he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer concluded.

“Prejudice in all its forms is abhorrent to the principles of this country and we should not let it to ever become normalised in public life.”

In a separate interview, a senior politician said Farage should “speak out” if he wanted to look like a genuine leader.

“It speaks volumes how very little he has to say, and the guarded phrasing that both you and I would understand as being crafted in a particular way to communicate, but also not to say something,” she remarked.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In legal letters prior to the release of the investigation, Farage’s legal team claimed that “the implication that Mr Farage ever engaged in, supported, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is categorically denied”.

Farage later altered his position in an appearance, saying: “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 said that he had “never directly sought to go and upset anybody”. Farage later put out a fresh denial: “I can tell you unequivocally that I did not say the things that have been printed aged 13, so long ago.”