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The United Kingdom's top law officer, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has called on the Reform UK leader to issue an apology to former schoolmates who assert he racially abused them during their years in education.

Hermer stated that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, based on their testimonies of his actions as a youth. He commented that the leader's "constantly changing" denials had been unconvincing.

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

Fresh Claims Come to Light

A published report last month outlined the testimony of more than a dozen ex-pupils of Farage from a south London school.

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 mimic the sound of the gas showers”.

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

“He came over to a pupil flanked by two similarly tall mates and targeted anyone looking ‘other’,” the former student said. “That included me on three occasions; asking me where I was from, and gesturing, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to wherever you replied you were from.”

Since then, more people have come forward; around two dozen people have now alleged they were either subject to or observed hurtful conduct by Farage.

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

Changing Stories

The political figure has disputed that anything he did was "blatantly" racist or antisemitic, and has claimed the individuals were not telling the truth.

Critics have noted that Farage has not managed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism in a wider sense in his denials.

They also reference his inability to reprimand a colleague in his party, Sarah Pochin, after she expressed views about the number of ethnic minorities she saw in television commercials. She later said sorry for the remarks.

“His evolving narrative about his behaviour to his Jewish classmates [is] not credible, to say the least,” Hermer commented.

He went on to say: “Claiming that two dozen individuals have all misremembered the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply isn’t credible."

Demand for Accountability

“If he wishes to be seen as a legitimate candidate for high office, he must acknowledge the fears of the Jewish people, and apologise to the many people he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer stated.

“Prejudice in all its forms is abhorrent to the values of this country and we should not let it to ever become accepted in politics.”

In a other comments, the Chancellor said Farage should “make a statement” if he wanted to look like a true statesman.

“It is very telling how very little he has to say, and the guarded phrasing that both you and I would recognise as being crafted in a particular way to say something, but also dodge the issue,” she said.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In formal correspondence before the publication of the investigation, Farage’s legal team claimed that “the allegation that Mr Farage ever engaged in, approved of, or led such conduct is strongly rejected”.

Farage later appeared to change his stance in an appearance, stating: “Did I say things decades ago that you could view as being playground talk, you could interpret in a today's standards today in some way? Perhaps.”

He added that he had “not once intentionally sought to go and harm anybody”. Farage afterwards issued a further comment: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been published aged 13, decades in the past.”