Top Law Officer Urges Nigel Farage to Say Sorry Over Alleged Antisemitic and Racist Behaviour.

The UK's attorney general, Richard Hermer, has demanded the Reform UK leader to apologise to former schoolmates who claim he racially abused them during their years in education.

Hermer remarked that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, according to their accounts of his past behaviour. He added that the politician's "shifting" explanations had been less than credible.

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

Fresh Claims Come to Light

A series of inquiries last month detailed the testimony of more than a dozen former classmates of Farage from Dulwich College.

One, a former pupil, described that a 13-year-old Farage "would sidle up to me and utter: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘gas them’, sometimes adding a long hiss to simulate the sound of the Nazi gas chambers”.

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

“He came over to a pupil accompanied by two tall mates and spoke to anyone looking ‘different’,” the former student said. “That involved me on three occasions; asking me where I was from, and motioning, saying: ‘That's how you get back,’ to any place you answered you were from.”

After the story broke, additional individuals have stepped forward; about 20 people have now alleged they were either subject to or witnesses to deeply offensive past behaviour by Farage.

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

Evolving Explanations

The Reform leader has disputed that anything he did was "blatantly" racist or antisemitic, and has asserted the individuals were not telling the truth.

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

They also reference his inability to sanction a fellow Reform MP, Sarah Pochin, after she made remarks about the number of ethnic minorities she saw in television commercials. She later expressed regret for the statements.

“His evolving narrative about his behaviour to his schoolmates [is] not credible, to say the least,” Hermer said.

He added: “Claiming that a group of people have somehow misremembered the same things about his offensive behaviour simply isn’t credible."

Demand for Accountability

“If he wants to be seen as a legitimate candidate for prime minister, he must acknowledge the fears of the Jewish people, and apologise to the many people he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer stated.

“Bigotry in all its forms is abhorrent to the standards of this country and we cannot allow it to ever become legitimised in politics.”

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

“It is very telling how little he has to say, and the very careful language that both you and I would identify as being written in a particular way to say something, but also dodge the issue,” she noted.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In legal letters before the publication of the investigation, Farage’s legal team stated that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever took part in, supported, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is completely refuted”.

Farage later appeared to change his stance in an interview, remarking: “Have I said things as a youth that you could see as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a modern light today in some way? Yes.”

He commented that he had “never directly attempted to go and hurt anybody”. Farage subsequently released a further comment: “I can tell you unequivocally that I did not say the things that have been printed as a 13-year-old, so long ago.”