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

Hermer stated that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, based on their descriptions of his past behaviour. He added that the politician's "constantly changing" statements had been less than credible.

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

Further Testimonies Surface

A recent investigation last month detailed the testimony of several ex-pupils of Farage from a private college.

One, Peter Ettedgui, said that a teenage Farage "came up to me and say: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘gas them’, occasionally including 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 singled out by a 17-year-old Farage.

“He walked up to a pupil flanked by two similarly tall mates and spoke to anyone looking ‘unusual’,” the individual said. “That happened to me on three occasions; inquiring 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; approximately twenty people have now alleged they were either subject to or witnesses to hurtful conduct by Farage.

The behaviour they described relate to the period when Farage was aged between 13 and 18.

Evolving Explanations

The political figure has disputed that anything he did was "explicitly" racist or antisemitic, and has claimed the accusers were misremembering.

Critics have pointed out that Farage has not managed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism more broadly in his statements.

They also cite his reluctance to reprimand a colleague in his party, Sarah Pochin, after she made remarks about the number of people of colour she saw in television commercials. She later expressed regret for the statements.

“His evolving narrative about his behaviour to his Jewish classmates [is] hard to believe, to say the least,” Hermer stated.

He continued: “Claiming that 20 people have somehow misremembered the same things about his offensive behaviour simply isn’t credible."

Question of Character

“If he wants to be seen as a credible figure for high office, he urgently needs acknowledge the concerns of the Jewish community, and apologise to the numerous individuals he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer concluded.

“Bigotry in all its forms is anathema to the values of this country and we must not permit it to ever become legitimised in politics.”

In a separate interview, Rachel Reeves said Farage should “say something” if he wanted to appear as a genuine leader.

“It is very telling how very little he has to say, and the guarded phrasing that both you and I would understand as being crafted in a certain style to communicate, but also not to say something,” she said.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In formal correspondence prior to the publication of the investigation, Farage’s lawyers claimed that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever was involved in, condoned, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is completely refuted”.

Farage later appeared to change his position in an appearance, stating: “Have I said things as a youth that you could view as being banter, you could interpret in a modern light today in some way? Yes.”

He said that he had “not ever purposely attempted to go and harm anybody”. Farage later issued a fresh denial: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been reported as a 13-year-old, decades in the past.”