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The United Kingdom's top law officer, Richard Hermer, has called on Nigel Farage to issue an apology to former schoolmates who allege he racially abused them during their time at school.

Hermer said that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, according to their testimonies of his alleged conduct. He noted that the leader's "shifting" denials had been difficult to believe.

“During his replies to valid inquiries, not once has Farage actually condemned antisemitism,” Hermer stated to a publication.

Fresh Claims Surface

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

One, a former pupil, recalled that a 13-year-old Farage "would approach me and utter: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, sometimes adding a long hiss to simulate the sound of the gas showers”.

Another pupil from an ethnic minority alleged that when he was roughly nine years old, he was singled out by a older Farage.

“He came over to a pupil accompanied by two tall mates and spoke to anyone looking ‘different’,” the person said. “That involved me on three occasions; asking me where I was from, and motioning, saying: ‘That's how you get back,’ to wherever you said you were from.”

Since then, additional individuals have come forward; about 20 people have now alleged they were either subject to or observed hurtful actions by Farage.

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

Denials and Shifting Positions

The Reform leader has disputed that anything he did was "explicitly" racist or antisemitic, and has asserted the individuals were not telling the truth.

Critics have pointed out that Farage has neglected to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism in a wider sense in his responses.

They also reference his inability to discipline a fellow Reform MP, Sarah Pochin, after she made remarks about the number of people of colour she saw in television commercials. She later expressed regret for the remarks.

“Nigel Farage’s evolving narrative about his behaviour to his peers [is] not credible, to say the least,” Hermer stated.

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

Demand for Accountability

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

“Racism in all its forms is anathema to the standards of this country and we must not permit it to ever become accepted in politics.”

In a other comments, the Chancellor said Farage should “speak out” if he wanted to appear as a genuine leader.

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

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In legal letters before the publication of the investigation, Farage’s legal team claimed that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever was involved in, supported, or led this behaviour is categorically denied”.

Farage later appeared to change his explanation in an appearance, saying: “Did I say things decades ago that you could see as being banter, you could interpret in a contemporary context today in a certain manner? Possibly.”

He said that he had “not once intentionally sought to go and hurt anybody”. Farage subsequently released a further comment: “I can tell you definitely that I did not say the things that have been published when I was 13, decades in the past.”