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

Hermer remarked that Farage had "clearly deeply hurt" many people, according to their accounts of his actions as a youth. He added that the leader's "constantly changing" denials had been unconvincing.

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

Further Testimonies Come to Light

A recent investigation last month detailed the testimony of more than a dozen ex-pupils of Farage from Dulwich College.

One, a former pupil, described that a teenage Farage "would approach me and say: ‘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 claimed that when he was roughly nine years old, he was subjected to similar treatment by a older Farage.

“He approached a pupil accompanied by two similarly tall mates and spoke to anyone looking ‘unusual’,” the individual said. “That involved me on three separate times; asking me where I was from, and gesturing, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to wherever you said you were from.”

After the story broke, others have come forward; about 20 people have now stated they were either targets of or observed highly inappropriate conduct by Farage.

The alleged events they described 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 claimed the former classmates were not telling the truth.

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

They also reference his failure to reprimand a party member, a MP, after she made remarks about the number of people of colour she saw in television commercials. She later apologised for the statements.

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

He added: “Suggesting that 20 people have somehow recalled incorrectly the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply lacks credibility."

Demand for Accountability

“If he aspires to be seen as a serious contender for prime minister, he has to acknowledge the anxieties of the Jewish community, and apologise to the numerous individuals he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer concluded.

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

In a separate interview, the Chancellor said Farage should “say something” 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 drafted in a specific manner to say something, but also avoid saying certain things,” she noted.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In legal letters before the publication of the investigation, Farage’s lawyers stated that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever took part in, supported, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is categorically denied”.

Farage later seemingly shifted his position in an appearance, saying: “Have I said things 50 years ago that you could see as being playground talk, you could interpret in a contemporary context today in some way? Possibly.”

He added that he had “not once intentionally really tried to go and hurt anybody”. Farage afterwards put out a further comment: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been published when I was 13, nearly 50 years ago.”