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The UK's attorney general, Richard Hermer, has called on the Reform UK leader to apologise to school contemporaries who claim he racially abused them during their time at school.

Hermer stated that Farage had "clearly deeply hurt" many people, judging by their testimonies of his alleged conduct. He commented that the politician's "evolving" denials had been unconvincing.

“Throughout his answers to valid inquiries, not once has Farage genuinely condemned antisemitism,” Hermer stated to a publication.

Further Testimonies Emerge

A published report last month outlined the accounts of several ex-pupils of Farage from a private college.

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

Another minority ethnic pupil alleged that when he was about nine, he was similarly targeted by a 17-year-old Farage.

“He came over to a pupil with two similarly tall mates and addressed anyone looking ‘other’,” the individual said. “That happened to me on three occasions; inquiring where I was from, and gesturing, saying: ‘That's how you get back,’ to any place you answered you were from.”

Following the initial report, additional individuals have stepped forward; around two dozen people have now alleged they were either subject to or witnesses to highly inappropriate conduct by Farage.

The incidents they recounted cover 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 asserted the accusers were misremembering.

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

They also point to his failure to discipline a colleague in his party, a MP, after she expressed views about the number of black and brown people she saw in adverts. She later said sorry for the remarks.

“Nigel Farage’s constantly changing story about his behaviour to his schoolmates [is] unconvincing, to say the least,” Hermer stated.

He added: “Claiming that two dozen individuals have somehow misremembered the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply isn’t credible."

Demand for Accountability

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

“Bigotry in all its forms is anathema to the principles of this country and we must not permit it to ever become legitimised in politics.”

In a separate interview, the Chancellor said Farage should “make a statement” if he wanted to be considered a true statesman.

“It speaks volumes how little he has to say, and the very careful language that both you and I would identify as being drafted in a certain style to say something, but also not to say something,” she noted.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In lawyers' communications prior to the release of the report, Farage’s representatives asserted that “the implication that Mr Farage ever was involved in, supported, or led such conduct is categorically denied”.

Farage later appeared to change his explanation in an interview, saying: “Have I said 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? Possibly.”

He said that he had “not once intentionally attempted to go and harm anybody”. Farage later released a fresh denial: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been reported aged 13, so long ago.”