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The United Kingdom's attorney general, Richard Hermer, has urged Nigel Farage to apologise to former schoolmates who allege he targeted with racist abuse them during their time at school.

Hermer remarked that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, based on their testimonies of his actions as a youth. He commented that the leader's "shifting" explanations had been less than credible.

“Throughout his defensive responses to valid inquiries, not once has Farage actually condemned antisemitism,” Hermer told a publication.

Further Testimonies Surface

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

One, Peter Ettedgui, said that a 13-year-old Farage "would sidle up to me and utter: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, sometimes adding a long hiss to imitate the sound of the gas showers”.

Another student of colour claimed that when he was roughly nine years old, he was singled out by a older Farage.

“He walked up to a pupil flanked by two equally tall mates and addressed anyone looking ‘unusual’,” the former student said. “That happened to me on three occasions; questioning me where I was from, and pointing away, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to any place you answered you were from.”

After the story broke, others have come forward; around two dozen people have now stated they were either targets of or observed highly inappropriate past behaviour by Farage.

The alleged events they recounted relate to the period when Farage was aged 13 to 18.

Changing Stories

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

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

They also reference his failure to sanction a colleague in his party, a MP, after she expressed views about the number of black and brown people she saw in television commercials. She later expressed regret for the statements.

“Nigel Farage’s 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 a group of people have somehow misremembered the same things about his offensive behaviour simply lacks credibility."

Question of Character

“If he aspires to be seen as a credible figure for high office, he urgently needs confront the fears of the Jewish people, and apologise to the those he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer said.

“Racism in all its forms is abhorrent to the values of this country and we must not permit it to ever become normalised in politics.”

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 guarded phrasing that both you and I would recognise as being written 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 report, Farage’s representatives claimed that “the implication that Mr Farage ever took part in, condoned, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is categorically denied”.

Farage later appeared to change his explanation in an discussion, stating: “Have I said things as a youth that you could see as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a today's standards today in some way? Perhaps.”

He commented that he had “not ever purposely attempted to go and upset anybody”. Farage afterwards put out a new statement: “I can tell you unequivocally that I did not say the things that have been reported aged 13, nearly 50 years ago.”