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The United Kingdom's top law officer, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has urged Nigel Farage to issue an apology to former schoolmates who allege he targeted with racist abuse them during their school days.

Hermer stated that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, according to their accounts of his actions as a youth. He commented that the leader's "evolving" denials had been unconvincing.

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

Fresh Claims Surface

A recent investigation last month outlined the testimony of over a dozen one-time schoolmates of Farage from a private college.

One, Peter Ettedgui, described that a teenage Farage "came up to me and utter: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, at times making a long hiss to imitate the sound of the gas showers”.

Another student of colour 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 with two equally tall mates and targeted anyone looking ‘other’,” the individual 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 said you were from.”

Since then, others have come forward; approximately twenty people have now stated they were either victims of or witnesses to deeply offensive past behaviour by Farage.

The behaviour 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 "explicitly" racist or antisemitic, and has suggested the former classmates were misremembering.

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

They also cite his failure to sanction a colleague in his party, a MP, after she complained about the number of people of colour she saw in adverts. She later expressed regret for the remarks.

“Nigel Farage’s evolving narrative about his behaviour to his schoolmates [is] hard to believe, to say the least,” Hermer said.

He continued: “Arguing that a group of 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 legitimate candidate for the top job, he must confront the fears of the Jewish community, and apologise to the numerous individuals he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer stated.

“Prejudice in all its forms is completely opposed to the values of this country and we should not let it to ever become normalised in society.”

In a separate interview, Rachel Reeves said Farage should “speak out” if he wanted to be considered a true statesman.

“It says a lot how very little he has to say, and the precisely drafted words that both you and I would identify as being drafted in a particular way to communicate, but also avoid saying certain things,” she noted.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In lawyers' communications before the publication of the investigation, Farage’s lawyers claimed that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever engaged in, approved of, or led such conduct is strongly rejected”.

Farage later altered his stance in an interview, stating: “Have I said things decades ago that you could view as being banter, you could interpret in a contemporary context today in a certain manner? Yes.”

He added that he had “not once intentionally really tried to go and hurt anybody”. Farage afterwards issued a further comment: “I can tell you unequivocally that I did not say the things that have been reported aged 13, decades in the past.”