Attorney General Urges Nigel Farage to Apologise Over Alleged Racism and Antisemitism.

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

Hermer remarked that Farage had "clearly deeply hurt" many people, judging by their descriptions of his alleged conduct. He added that the leader's "evolving" explanations had been less than credible.

“During his defensive responses to legitimate questions, not once has Farage truly condemned antisemitism,” Hermer told a publication.

Further Testimonies Come to Light

A published report last month outlined the testimony of several ex-pupils of Farage from Dulwich College.

One, a former pupil, said that a 13-year-old Farage "came up to me and growl: ‘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 pupil from an ethnic minority stated that when he was roughly nine years old, he was singled out by a 17-year-old Farage.

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

After the story broke, more people have come forward; around two dozen people have now stated they were either victims of or saw hurtful past behaviour by Farage.

The behaviour they outlined cover the period when Farage was aged a teenager.

Changing Stories

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

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

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

“Nigel Farage’s constantly changing story about his behaviour to his Jewish classmates [is] hard to believe, to say the least,” Hermer said.

He added: “Arguing that 20 people have somehow misremembered the same things about his offensive behaviour simply isn’t credible."

Demand for Accountability

“If he wishes to be seen as a credible figure for prime minister, he urgently needs confront the anxieties of the Jewish people, and say sorry to the those he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer said.

“Prejudice in all its forms is abhorrent to the standards of this country and we must not permit it to ever become normalised in public life.”

In a separate interview, the Chancellor said Farage should “speak out” if he wanted to look like a true statesman.

“It says a lot how little he has to say, and the very careful language that both you and I would understand as being drafted in a specific manner to say something, but also not to say something,” she said.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In formal correspondence before the publication of the report, Farage’s representatives stated that “the allegation that Mr Farage ever engaged in, supported, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is categorically denied”.

Farage later appeared to change his position in an discussion, remarking: “Did I say things decades ago that you could interpret as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a modern light today in some sort of way? Perhaps.”

He commented that he had “never directly attempted to go and harm anybody”. Farage subsequently released a further comment: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been printed aged 13, nearly 50 years ago.”