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The United Kingdom's top law officer, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has demanded the Reform UK leader to apologise to former schoolmates who claim he racially abused them during their years in education.

Hermer said that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, based on their accounts of his past behaviour. He commented that the leader's "constantly changing" statements had been less than credible.

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

Fresh Claims Surface

A recent investigation last month documented the statements of over a dozen former classmates of Farage from a private college.

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

Another student of colour alleged that when he was roughly nine years old, he was subjected to similar treatment by a 17-year-old Farage.

“He walked up to a pupil flanked by two similarly tall mates and targeted anyone looking ‘different’,” the former student said. “That included me on three occasions; asking me where I was from, and motioning, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to any place you said you were from.”

After the story broke, additional individuals have emerged; around two dozen people have now alleged they were either victims of or saw deeply offensive conduct by Farage.

The incidents they described relate to the period when Farage was aged 13 to 18.

Evolving Explanations

The political figure has denied that anything he did was "directly" racist or antisemitic, and has asserted the former classmates were not telling the truth.

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

They also cite his failure to sanction a party member, a MP, after she complained about the number of ethnic minorities she saw in television commercials. She later said sorry for the comments.

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

He added: “Claiming that a group of people have somehow misremembered the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply is not believable."

Question of Character

“If he aspires to be seen as a serious contender for the top job, he must address the fears of the Jewish people, and say sorry to the those he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer concluded.

“Prejudice in all its forms is abhorrent to the principles of this country and we must not permit it to ever become legitimised in politics.”

In a different discussion, Rachel Reeves said Farage should “make a statement” if he wanted to be considered a genuine leader.

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

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In lawyers' communications before the release of the report, Farage’s lawyers asserted that “the implication that Mr Farage ever took part in, condoned, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is categorically denied”.

Farage later altered his stance in an interview, stating: “Have I said things as a youth that you could interpret as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a today's standards today in some way? Possibly.”

He commented that he had “never directly really tried to go and upset anybody”. Farage subsequently issued a new statement: “I can tell you definitely that I did not say the things that have been reported aged 13, so long ago.”