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The United Kingdom's top law officer, Richard Hermer, has called on Nigel Farage to issue an apology to former schoolmates who claim he racially abused them during their school days.

Hermer remarked that Farage had "clearly deeply hurt" many people, according to their testimonies of his alleged conduct. He noted that the politician's "evolving" denials had been less than credible.

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

Fresh Claims Come to Light

A recent investigation last month detailed the testimony of several former classmates of Farage from a private college.

One, a former pupil, said that a 13-year-old Farage "would sidle up to me and say: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘gas them’, occasionally including a long hiss to imitate the sound of the gas showers”.

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

“He came over to a pupil accompanied by two equally tall mates and spoke to anyone looking ‘other’,” the person said. “That involved me on three separate times; questioning me where I was from, and gesturing, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to any place you said you were from.”

Following the initial report, more people have stepped forward; approximately twenty people have now stated they were either targets of or observed highly inappropriate actions by Farage.

The alleged events they recounted cover the period when Farage was aged a teenager.

Denials and Shifting Positions

The Reform leader has denied that anything he did was "directly" racist or antisemitic, and has claimed the accusers were being untruthful.

Critics have noted that Farage has not managed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism outright in his denials.

They also reference his failure to discipline a party member, a MP, after she made remarks about the number of people of colour she saw in adverts. She later apologised for the comments.

“His evolving narrative about his behaviour to his schoolmates [is] unconvincing, to say the least,” Hermer commented.

He went on to say: “Suggesting that 20 people have somehow recalled incorrectly the same things about his offensive behaviour simply isn’t credible."

Demand for Accountability

“If he wants to be seen as a credible figure for prime minister, he must confront the fears of the Jewish people, and say sorry to the those he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer stated.

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

In a different discussion, Rachel Reeves said Farage should “say something” if he wanted to appear as a real leader.

“It says a lot how very little he has to say, and the guarded phrasing that both you and I would recognise as being drafted in a particular way to say something, but also dodge the issue,” she noted.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In formal correspondence before the release of the investigation, Farage’s lawyers stated that “the implication that Mr Farage ever engaged in, approved of, or led such conduct is strongly rejected”.

Farage later seemingly shifted his stance in an interview, saying: “Did I say things decades ago that you could see as being playground talk, you could interpret in a modern light today in some way? Yes.”

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