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The UK's attorney general, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has demanded the Reform UK leader to apologise to school contemporaries who claim he racially abused them during their school days.

Hermer said that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, according to their accounts of his alleged conduct. He noted that the politician's "shifting" explanations had been unconvincing.

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

Fresh Claims Surface

A recent investigation last month detailed the testimony of several ex-pupils of Farage from Dulwich College.

One, a former pupil, recalled that a teenage Farage "would sidle up to me and say: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, sometimes adding a long hiss to simulate the sound of the gas showers”.

Another student of colour stated that when he was about nine, he was singled out by a 17-year-old Farage.

“He came over to a pupil accompanied by two tall mates and targeted anyone looking ‘different’,” the former student said. “That happened to me on three separate times; asking me where I was from, and pointing away, saying: ‘That’s the way back,’ to any place you said you were from.”

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

The incidents they described relate to the period when Farage was aged 13 to 18.

Changing Stories

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

Observers have noted that Farage has neglected to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism in a wider sense in his responses.

They also point to his reluctance 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 expressed regret for the comments.

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

He went on to say: “Suggesting that a group of people have all forgotten the same things about his offensive behaviour simply isn’t credible."

Demand for Accountability

“If he wishes to be seen as a credible figure for the top job, he must confront the concerns of the Jewish community, and apologise to the numerous individuals he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer said.

“Racism in all its forms is completely opposed to the principles 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 appear as a genuine leader.

“It says a lot how very little he has to say, and the guarded phrasing that both you and I would identify as being drafted in a specific manner to communicate, but also avoid saying certain things,” she remarked.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

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

Farage later altered his position in an appearance, stating: “Did I say things 50 years ago that you could view as being playground talk, you could interpret in a today's standards today in a certain manner? Yes.”

He commented that he had “not once intentionally attempted 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 reported when I was 13, so long ago.”