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The United Kingdom's attorney general, Richard Hermer, has demanded Nigel Farage to issue an apology to former schoolmates who assert he racially abused them during their years in education.

Hermer said that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, according to their testimonies of his actions as a youth. He commented that the politician's "shifting" explanations had been unconvincing.

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

Further Testimonies Emerge

A recent investigation last month detailed the accounts of more than a dozen one-time schoolmates of Farage from Dulwich College.

One, a former pupil, said that a teenage Farage "came up to me and say: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘gas them’, occasionally including 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 approached a pupil flanked by two equally tall mates and addressed anyone looking ‘other’,” the person said. “That included me on three separate times; asking me where I was from, and motioning, saying: ‘That’s the way back,’ to any place you replied you were from.”

Following the initial report, more people have stepped forward; approximately twenty people have now claimed they were either victims of or observed hurtful actions by Farage.

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

Changing Stories

The Reform leader has rejected that anything he did was "explicitly" racist or antisemitic, and has asserted the individuals were being untruthful.

Critics have pointed out that Farage has neglected to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism outright in his statements.

They also point to his reluctance to discipline a fellow Reform MP, Sarah Pochin, after she made remarks about the number of people of colour she saw in adverts. She later expressed regret for the comments.

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

He added: “Arguing that two dozen individuals have somehow recalled incorrectly the same things about his nasty behaviour simply lacks credibility."

Call for Leadership

“If he wants to be seen as a legitimate candidate for prime minister, he urgently needs acknowledge the fears of the Jewish community, and apologise to the numerous individuals he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer said.

“Prejudice in all its forms is anathema to the standards of this country and we must not permit it to ever become legitimised in society.”

In a other comments, Rachel Reeves said Farage should “say something” if he wanted to appear as a real leader.

“It speaks volumes how little he has to say, and the guarded phrasing that both you and I would identify as being crafted in a particular way to communicate, but also dodge the issue,” she noted.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In legal letters prior to the publication of the investigation, Farage’s legal team stated that “the implication that Mr Farage ever engaged in, approved of, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is strongly rejected”.

Farage later seemingly shifted his position in an appearance, remarking: “Did I say things as a youth that you could see as being banter, you could interpret in a today's standards today in some way? Perhaps.”

He commented that he had “never directly attempted to go and hurt anybody”. Farage later issued a new statement: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been published when I was 13, nearly 50 years ago.”