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The United Kingdom's top law officer, Richard Hermer, has urged Nigel Farage to issue an apology to former schoolmates who assert he racially abused them during their years in education.

Hermer said that Farage had "clearly deeply hurt" many people, according to their accounts of his actions as a youth. He noted that the leader's "shifting" statements had been less than credible.

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

New Allegations Come to Light

A published report last month outlined the accounts of over a dozen former classmates of Farage from a private college.

One, a former pupil, recalled that a teenage Farage "came up to me and growl: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘gas them’, occasionally including a long hiss to mimic the sound of the gas showers”.

Another minority ethnic pupil alleged that when he was about nine, he was subjected to similar treatment by a 17-year-old Farage.

“He walked up to a pupil accompanied by two similarly tall mates and spoke to anyone looking ‘other’,” the individual said. “That included me on three separate times; questioning me where I was from, and motioning, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to wherever you replied you were from.”

Since then, others have come forward; approximately twenty people have now claimed they were either targets of or witnesses to hurtful past behaviour by Farage.

The alleged events they described cover the period when Farage was aged 13 to 18.

Denials and Shifting Positions

The political figure has denied that anything he did was "explicitly" racist or antisemitic, and has claimed the accusers were not telling the truth.

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

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

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

He went on to say: “Arguing that a group of people have all misremembered the same things about his offensive behaviour simply lacks credibility."

Call for Leadership

“If he wishes to be seen as a legitimate candidate for the top job, he has to acknowledge the fears of the Jewish people, and say sorry to the many people he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer said.

“Prejudice in all its forms is abhorrent to the values of this country and we cannot allow it to ever become normalised in public life.”

In a separate interview, the Chancellor said Farage should “make a statement” if he wanted to look like a real leader.

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

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In formal correspondence before the release of the report, Farage’s lawyers claimed that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever took part in, approved of, or led such conduct is strongly rejected”.

Farage later altered his position in an appearance, saying: “Have I said things as a youth that you could interpret as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a contemporary context today in a certain manner? Possibly.”

He commented that he had “not ever purposely sought to go and harm anybody”. Farage subsequently issued a further comment: “I can tell you unequivocally that I did not say the things that have been published aged 13, so long ago.”