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The United Kingdom's attorney general, Richard Hermer, has urged the Reform UK leader to apologise to school contemporaries who assert he racially abused them during their time at school.

Hermer stated that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, according to their descriptions of his past behaviour. He noted that the leader's "evolving" explanations had been difficult to believe.

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

New Allegations Come to Light

A series of inquiries last month outlined the accounts of several former classmates of Farage from a south London school.

One, Peter Ettedgui, recalled that a teenage Farage "would sidle up to me and growl: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, at times making a long hiss to simulate the sound of the Nazi gas chambers”.

Another minority ethnic pupil alleged that when he was roughly nine years old, he was singled out by a older Farage.

“He walked up to a pupil with two similarly tall mates and addressed anyone looking ‘other’,” the former student said. “That involved me on three occasions; inquiring where I was from, and motioning, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to any place you replied you were from.”

Following the initial report, others have come forward; about 20 people have now stated they were either targets of or witnesses to hurtful conduct by Farage.

The alleged events they outlined span the period when Farage was aged 13 to 18.

Changing Stories

The Reform leader has rejected that anything he did was "explicitly" racist or antisemitic, and has asserted the former classmates were being untruthful.

Critics have noted that Farage has failed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism outright in his denials.

They also point to his inability to sanction a party member, Sarah Pochin, after she expressed views about the number of ethnic minorities she saw in adverts. She later expressed regret for the comments.

“His constantly changing story about his behaviour to his peers [is] not credible, to say the least,” Hermer said.

He continued: “Suggesting that a group of people have somehow misremembered the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply lacks credibility."

Question of Character

“If he wishes to be seen as a credible figure for high office, he urgently needs confront the fears of the Jewish community, and apologise to the those he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer stated.

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

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

“It says a lot how little he has to say, and the very careful language that both you and I would recognise as being written in a particular way to communicate, but also not to say something,” she noted.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In legal letters prior to the release of the investigation, Farage’s lawyers claimed that “the implication that Mr Farage ever engaged in, supported, or led this behaviour is strongly rejected”.

Farage later altered his position in an discussion, remarking: “Have I said things decades ago that you could view as being playground talk, you could interpret in a today's standards today in some way? Perhaps.”

He added that he had “not ever purposely sought to go and upset anybody”. Farage afterwards put out a further comment: “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.”