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The United Kingdom's attorney general, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has called on the Reform UK leader to issue an apology to former schoolmates who allege he racially abused them during their school days.

Hermer remarked that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, judging by their accounts of his alleged conduct. He commented that the politician's "evolving" denials had been difficult to believe.

“During his answers to legitimate questions, not once has Farage actually condemned antisemitism,” Hermer informed a publication.

New Allegations Emerge

A recent investigation last month outlined the accounts of over a dozen ex-pupils of Farage from Dulwich College.

One, a former pupil, said that a teenage Farage "would sidle up to me and growl: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ 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 singled out by a older Farage.

“He approached a pupil flanked by two similarly tall mates and addressed anyone looking ‘other’,” the person said. “That included 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, additional individuals have emerged; approximately twenty people have now stated they were either victims of or witnesses to hurtful conduct by Farage.

The alleged events they recounted relate to the period when Farage was aged between 13 and 18.

Denials and Shifting Positions

The Reform leader has rejected that anything he did was "blatantly" racist or antisemitic, and has claimed the accusers were not telling the truth.

Commentators have highlighted that Farage has neglected to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism outright in his denials.

They also point to his inability to sanction a fellow Reform MP, a MP, after she complained about the number of ethnic minorities she saw in adverts. She later apologised for the comments.

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

He went on to say: “Arguing that two dozen individuals have all forgotten the same things about his nasty behaviour simply is not believable."

Question of Character

“If he wishes to be seen as a credible figure for the top job, he urgently needs confront the concerns of the Jewish community, and apologise to the many people he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer stated.

“Prejudice in all its forms is completely opposed to the values of this country and we cannot allow it to ever become accepted in politics.”

In a different discussion, Rachel Reeves said Farage should “make a statement” if he wanted to appear as a real leader.

“It is very telling how very little he has to say, and the very careful language that both you and I would identify as being crafted in a specific manner to communicate, but also not to say something,” she remarked.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In lawyers' communications before the release of the investigation, Farage’s lawyers claimed that “the allegation that Mr Farage ever took part in, approved of, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is categorically denied”.

Farage later appeared to change his explanation in an interview, remarking: “Have I said things decades ago that you could view as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a today's standards today in some sort of way? Perhaps.”

He added that he had “not ever purposely sought to go and harm anybody”. Farage subsequently put out a further comment: “I can tell you definitely that I did not say the things that have been published when I was 13, nearly 50 years ago.”