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The United Kingdom's attorney general, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has called on Nigel Farage to issue an apology to school contemporaries who claim he racially abused them during their time at school.

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

“In his answers to valid inquiries, not once has Farage genuinely condemned antisemitism,” Hermer informed a news outlet.

Further Testimonies Surface

A recent investigation last month outlined the accounts of several ex-pupils of Farage from a private college.

One, Peter Ettedgui, said that a teenage Farage "would sidle up to me and growl: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘gas them’, sometimes adding a long hiss to simulate the sound of the Nazi gas chambers”.

Another pupil from an ethnic minority 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 accompanied by two equally tall mates and spoke to anyone looking ‘unusual’,” the person said. “That involved me on three separate times; inquiring where I was from, and motioning, saying: ‘That’s the way back,’ to any place you said you were from.”

Following the initial report, others have emerged; approximately twenty people have now stated they were either targets of or witnesses to deeply offensive conduct by Farage.

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

Denials and Shifting Positions

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

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

They also cite his reluctance to discipline a fellow Reform MP, a MP, after she made remarks about the number of people of colour she saw in television commercials. She later said sorry for the remarks.

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

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

Demand for Accountability

“If he wishes to be seen as a serious contender for prime minister, he must confront the concerns of the Jewish community, and say sorry to the many people he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer said.

“Bigotry in all its forms is anathema to the values of this country and we should not let it to ever become normalised in politics.”

In a other comments, 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 guarded phrasing that both you and I would recognise as being crafted in a particular way to communicate, but also avoid saying certain things,” she remarked.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In legal letters prior to the publication of the investigation, Farage’s legal team asserted that “the allegation that Mr Farage ever engaged in, supported, or led this behaviour is completely refuted”.

Farage later altered his stance in an interview, saying: “Did I say things 50 years ago that you could see as being banter, you could interpret in a today's standards today in some way? Possibly.”

He added that he had “not once intentionally sought to go and upset anybody”. Farage afterwards released a new statement: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been published aged 13, so long ago.”