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The United Kingdom's top law officer, Richard Hermer, has demanded the Reform UK leader to issue an apology to former schoolmates who allege he racially abused them during their time at school.

Hermer said that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, based on their accounts of his alleged conduct. He noted that the politician's "evolving" explanations had been unconvincing.

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

New Allegations Emerge

A series of inquiries last month outlined the accounts of over a dozen former classmates of Farage from Dulwich College.

One, Peter Ettedgui, said that a teenage Farage "came up to me and say: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, occasionally including a long hiss to imitate the sound of the Nazi gas chambers”.

Another minority ethnic pupil alleged that when he was roughly nine years old, he was similarly targeted by a 17-year-old Farage.

“He walked up to a pupil flanked by two equally tall mates and spoke to anyone looking ‘different’,” the person said. “That involved me on three separate times; questioning me where I was from, and pointing away, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to wherever you said you were from.”

After the story broke, additional individuals have come forward; approximately twenty people have now claimed they were either targets of or witnesses to hurtful actions by Farage.

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

Changing Stories

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

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

They also point to his failure to sanction a fellow Reform MP, Sarah Pochin, after she made remarks about the number of ethnic minorities she saw in adverts. She later apologised for the remarks.

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

He added: “Arguing that a group of people have all forgotten the same things about his offensive behaviour simply lacks credibility."

Demand for Accountability

“If he wishes to be seen as a legitimate candidate for prime minister, he must confront the anxieties of the Jewish community, and say sorry to the numerous individuals he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer stated.

“Prejudice in all its forms is completely opposed to the standards of this country and we should not let it to ever become normalised in public life.”

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

“It says a lot how very little he has to say, and the precisely drafted words that both you and I would recognise as being drafted in a certain style to communicate, but also dodge the issue,” she said.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In formal correspondence prior to the publication of the report, Farage’s legal team stated that “the implication that Mr Farage ever was involved in, approved of, or led this behaviour is categorically denied”.

Farage later appeared to change his position in an appearance, remarking: “Have I said things as a youth that you could interpret as being playground talk, you could interpret in a contemporary context today in some sort of way? Possibly.”

He commented that he had “not once intentionally attempted to go and harm anybody”. Farage later released a new statement: “I can tell you unequivocally that I did not say the things that have been published aged 13, decades in the past.”