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The UK's top law officer, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has called on the Reform UK leader to issue an apology to school contemporaries who assert he racially abused them during their school days.

Hermer said that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, according to their testimonies of his past behaviour. He noted that the politician's "shifting" explanations had been unconvincing.

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

New Allegations Come to Light

A recent investigation last month documented the statements of several one-time schoolmates of Farage from Dulwich College.

One, Peter Ettedgui, said that a teenage Farage "came up to me and say: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, occasionally including a long hiss to simulate the sound of the gas showers”.

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

“He approached a pupil with two similarly tall mates and spoke to anyone looking ‘different’,” the former student said. “That included me on three separate times; inquiring where I was from, and pointing away, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to wherever you answered you were from.”

After the story broke, others have stepped forward; approximately twenty people have now stated they were either subject to or saw highly inappropriate actions by Farage.

The alleged events they recounted relate to the period when Farage was aged between 13 and 18.

Evolving Explanations

The Reform leader has rejected that anything he did was "explicitly" racist or antisemitic, and has suggested the accusers were misremembering.

Observers have noted that Farage has failed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism more broadly in his statements.

They also point to his failure to reprimand a colleague in his party, a MP, after she complained about the number of black and brown people she saw in adverts. She later apologised for the remarks.

“His shifting account about his behaviour to his Jewish classmates [is] unconvincing, to say the least,” Hermer commented.

He added: “Claiming that two dozen individuals have somehow forgotten the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply lacks credibility."

Demand for Accountability

“If he wants to be seen as a serious contender for prime minister, he urgently needs confront the fears of the Jewish community, and say sorry to the those he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer said.

“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 public life.”

In a other comments, the Chancellor said Farage should “say something” if he wanted to appear as a genuine leader.

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

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In formal correspondence prior to the publication of the report, Farage’s legal team claimed that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever engaged in, condoned, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is strongly rejected”.

Farage later altered his explanation in an discussion, stating: “Did I say things decades ago that you could see as being banter, you could interpret in a contemporary context today in some sort of way? Yes.”

He commented that he had “not once intentionally sought to go and upset anybody”. Farage afterwards put out a further comment: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been reported aged 13, nearly 50 years ago.”