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The UK's attorney general, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has demanded Nigel Farage to issue an apology to school contemporaries who assert he targeted with racist abuse them during their time at school.

Hermer remarked that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, based on their accounts of his past behaviour. He added that the leader's "shifting" statements had been difficult to believe.

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

Fresh Claims Come to Light

A published report last month documented the testimony of several ex-pupils of Farage from Dulwich College.

One, Peter Ettedgui, described that a 13-year-old Farage "would sidle up to me and growl: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘gas them’, sometimes adding a long hiss to imitate the sound of the Nazi gas chambers”.

Another student of colour stated that when he was about nine, he was singled out by a 17-year-old Farage.

“He walked up to a pupil with two equally tall mates and spoke to anyone looking ‘different’,” the former student said. “That included me on three occasions; questioning me where I was from, and gesturing, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to any place you answered you were from.”

Since then, more people have stepped forward; around two dozen people have now stated they were either subject to or observed hurtful actions by Farage.

The behaviour they outlined cover the period when Farage was aged between 13 and 18.

Changing Stories

The political figure has denied that anything he did was "directly" racist or antisemitic, and has claimed the former classmates were misremembering.

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

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 apologised for the statements.

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

He added: “Claiming that 20 people have somehow misremembered the same things about his nasty behaviour simply lacks credibility."

Demand for Accountability

“If he wants to be seen as a serious contender for prime minister, he urgently needs acknowledge the concerns of the Jewish community, and say sorry to the numerous individuals he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer stated.

“Racism in all its forms is abhorrent to the values of this country and we cannot allow it to ever become accepted in public life.”

In a separate interview, the Chancellor said Farage should “say something” if he wanted to be considered a genuine leader.

“It speaks volumes how very little he has to say, and the guarded phrasing that both you and I would identify as being written in a specific manner to say something, but also not to say something,” she said.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In formal correspondence before the release of the investigation, Farage’s representatives asserted that “the allegation that Mr Farage ever was involved in, condoned, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is strongly rejected”.

Farage later altered his position in an discussion, stating: “Have I said things as a youth that you could view as being playground talk, you could interpret in a contemporary context today in a certain manner? Possibly.”

He added that he had “not once intentionally attempted to go and harm anybody”. Farage subsequently put out a new statement: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been printed as a 13-year-old, decades in the past.”