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The United Kingdom's attorney general, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has urged Nigel Farage to issue an apology to school contemporaries who claim he targeted with racist abuse them during their school days.

Hermer stated that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, according to their testimonies of his actions as a youth. He added that the leader's "evolving" statements had been less than credible.

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

New Allegations Surface

A series of inquiries last month detailed the statements of more than a dozen ex-pupils of Farage from Dulwich College.

One, Peter Ettedgui, recalled that a teenage Farage "came up to me and say: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘gas them’, sometimes adding a long hiss to imitate the sound of the gas showers”.

Another student of colour stated that when he was roughly nine years old, he was singled out by a older Farage.

“He walked up to a pupil accompanied by two tall mates and spoke to anyone looking ‘unusual’,” the person said. “That included me on three separate times; inquiring where I was from, and pointing away, saying: ‘That’s the way back,’ to any place you said you were from.”

Following the initial report, more people have come forward; about 20 people have now claimed they were either victims of or saw highly inappropriate conduct by Farage.

The behaviour they outlined cover the period when Farage was aged a teenager.

Changing Stories

The political figure has disputed that anything he did was "blatantly" racist or antisemitic, and has asserted the former classmates were misremembering.

Commentators have highlighted that Farage has failed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism more broadly in his denials.

They also cite his reluctance to discipline a party member, a MP, after she made remarks about the number of people of colour she saw in adverts. She later apologised for the statements.

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

He continued: “Claiming that two dozen individuals have somehow forgotten the same things about his nasty behaviour simply lacks credibility."

Demand for Accountability

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

“Bigotry in all its forms is completely opposed to the standards of this country and we must not permit it to ever become normalised in politics.”

In a separate interview, a senior politician said Farage should “speak out” if he wanted to appear as a true statesman.

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

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In legal letters prior to the publication of the report, Farage’s lawyers asserted that “the implication that Mr Farage ever took part in, approved of, or led this behaviour is categorically denied”.

Farage later seemingly shifted his position in an discussion, stating: “Have I said things decades ago that you could interpret as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a today's standards today in some way? Perhaps.”

He commented that he had “not once intentionally really tried to go and harm anybody”. Farage subsequently released a fresh denial: “I can tell you definitely that I did not say the things that have been printed when I was 13, nearly 50 years ago.”