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

Hermer stated that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, according to their testimonies of his past behaviour. He commented that the politician's "shifting" explanations had been less than credible.

“Throughout his defensive responses to valid inquiries, not once has Farage truly condemned antisemitism,” Hermer told a publication.

Further Testimonies Surface

A series of inquiries last month outlined the testimony of over a dozen ex-pupils of Farage from a private college.

One, a former pupil, described that a 13-year-old Farage "would approach me and utter: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, at times making a long hiss to mimic the sound of the gas showers”.

Another minority ethnic pupil alleged that when he was about nine, he was similarly targeted by a 17-year-old Farage.

“He came over to a pupil flanked by two similarly tall mates and targeted anyone looking ‘unusual’,” the former student said. “That involved me on three occasions; inquiring where I was from, and motioning, saying: ‘That’s the way back,’ to wherever you said you were from.”

After the story broke, others have emerged; around two dozen people have now claimed they were either victims of or saw hurtful conduct by Farage.

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

Denials and Shifting Positions

The Reform leader has denied that anything he did was "explicitly" racist or antisemitic, and has claimed the individuals were misremembering.

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

They also cite his failure to reprimand a fellow Reform MP, Sarah Pochin, after she expressed views about the number of people of colour she saw in adverts. She later apologised for the remarks.

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

He added: “Claiming that two dozen individuals have all recalled incorrectly the same things about his offensive behaviour simply lacks credibility."

Demand for Accountability

“If he aspires to be seen as a credible figure for the top job, he has to acknowledge the concerns of the Jewish people, and apologise to the those he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer said.

“Bigotry in all its forms is abhorrent to the values of this country and we should not let it to ever become legitimised in public life.”

In a separate interview, a senior politician said Farage should “say something” if he wanted to be considered a real leader.

“It speaks volumes how little he has to say, and the precisely drafted words that both you and I would identify as being crafted in a particular way to say something, but also dodge the issue,” she remarked.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In formal correspondence prior to the publication of the report, Farage’s legal team claimed that “the allegation that Mr Farage ever took part in, approved of, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is categorically denied”.

Farage later appeared to change his explanation in an interview, saying: “Have I said things as a youth that you could view as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a today's standards today in some way? Possibly.”

He added that he had “not ever purposely sought to go and upset anybody”. Farage later released a new statement: “I can tell you definitely that I did not say the things that have been reported as a 13-year-old, nearly 50 years ago.”