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The United Kingdom's top law officer, Richard Hermer, has called on Nigel Farage to apologise to school contemporaries who claim he targeted with racist abuse them during their time at school.

Hermer said that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, judging by their testimonies of his actions as a youth. He noted that the politician's "constantly changing" denials had been difficult to believe.

“In his defensive responses to legitimate questions, not once has Farage truly condemned antisemitism,” Hermer informed a news outlet.

Further Testimonies Come to Light

A published report last month documented the testimony of over a dozen one-time schoolmates of Farage from Dulwich College.

One, a former pupil, described that a teenage Farage "would approach me and utter: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, sometimes adding a long hiss to simulate the sound of the Nazi gas chambers”.

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

“He approached a pupil with two tall mates and spoke to anyone looking ‘other’,” the individual said. “That involved me on three separate times; inquiring where I was from, and pointing away, saying: ‘That's how you get back,’ to wherever you replied you were from.”

Since then, others have come forward; approximately twenty people have now claimed they were either targets of or observed hurtful past behaviour by Farage.

The behaviour they recounted span the period when Farage was aged between 13 and 18.

Denials and Shifting Positions

The political figure has denied that anything he did was "explicitly" racist or antisemitic, and has suggested the individuals were not telling the truth.

Commentators have highlighted that Farage has failed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism in a wider sense in his responses.

They also cite his inability to sanction a fellow Reform MP, Sarah Pochin, after she expressed views about the number of people of colour she saw in adverts. She later apologised for the statements.

“Nigel Farage’s shifting account about his behaviour to his peers [is] not credible, to say the least,” Hermer commented.

He went on to say: “Arguing that 20 people have somehow recalled incorrectly the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply is not believable."

Demand for Accountability

“If he wishes to be seen as a serious contender for the top job, he has to confront the fears of the Jewish community, and apologise to the those he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer said.

“Bigotry in all its forms is anathema to the principles of this country and we cannot allow it to ever become legitimised in public life.”

In a different discussion, the Chancellor said Farage should “say something” if he wanted to be considered a true statesman.

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

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In formal correspondence prior to the release of the report, Farage’s representatives claimed that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever engaged in, approved of, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is strongly rejected”.

Farage later altered his position in an interview, saying: “Did I say things decades ago that you could view as being banter, you could interpret in a today's standards today in a certain manner? Perhaps.”

He said that he had “not ever purposely really tried to go and hurt anybody”. Farage afterwards put out a fresh denial: “I can tell you unequivocally that I did not say the things that have been published as a 13-year-old, nearly 50 years ago.”