Top Law Officer Urges Reform UK Leader to Say Sorry Over Claimed Antisemitic and Racist Behaviour.

The UK's attorney general, Richard Hermer, has called on the Reform UK leader to apologise to former schoolmates who allege he targeted with racist abuse them during their years in education.

Hermer said that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, judging by their testimonies of his actions as a youth. He noted that the leader's "shifting" denials had been difficult to believe.

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

New Allegations Surface

A recent investigation last month documented the testimony of several one-time schoolmates of Farage from a south London school.

One, Peter Ettedgui, said that a teenage Farage "would sidle up to me and say: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, occasionally including a long hiss to imitate the sound of the gas showers”.

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

“He walked up to a pupil flanked by two equally tall mates and addressed anyone looking ‘other’,” the person said. “That included me on three occasions; questioning me where I was from, and pointing away, saying: ‘That’s the way back,’ to any place you answered you were from.”

Since then, others have stepped forward; about 20 people have now alleged they were either targets of or saw hurtful conduct by Farage.

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

Evolving Explanations

The political figure has denied that anything he did was "blatantly" racist or antisemitic, and has asserted the former classmates were being untruthful.

Observers have noted that Farage has not managed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism more broadly in his responses.

They also cite his reluctance to sanction a party member, Sarah Pochin, after she expressed views about the number of people of colour she saw in adverts. She later expressed regret for the comments.

“Nigel Farage’s shifting account about his behaviour to his Jewish classmates [is] hard to believe, to say the least,” Hermer stated.

He went on to say: “Arguing that two dozen individuals have somehow misremembered the same things about his nasty behaviour simply is not believable."

Call for Leadership

“If he wishes to be seen as a legitimate candidate for the top job, he has to address the anxieties of the Jewish community, and apologise to the those he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer stated.

“Prejudice in all its forms is anathema to the principles of this country and we must not permit it to ever become accepted in public life.”

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

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

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In lawyers' communications before the release of the investigation, Farage’s representatives stated that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever took part in, condoned, or led this behaviour is completely refuted”.

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

He said that he had “never directly really tried to go and upset anybody”. Farage afterwards put out a fresh denial: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been reported as a 13-year-old, nearly 50 years ago.”