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The United Kingdom's top law officer, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has urged the Reform UK leader to issue an apology to school contemporaries who allege he targeted with racist abuse them during their time at school.

Hermer stated that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, according to their accounts of his actions as a youth. He noted that the leader's "constantly changing" statements had been less than credible.

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

Fresh Claims Surface

A series of inquiries last month outlined the accounts of over a dozen one-time schoolmates of Farage from Dulwich College.

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

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

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

Following the initial report, others have stepped forward; approximately twenty people have now claimed they were either subject to or witnesses to highly inappropriate actions by Farage.

The incidents they described relate to the period when Farage was aged a teenager.

Changing Stories

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

Observers have pointed out that Farage has failed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism outright in his denials.

They also point to his failure to sanction a party member, Sarah Pochin, after she expressed views about the number of ethnic minorities she saw in television commercials. She later said sorry for the remarks.

“His constantly changing story about his behaviour to his peers [is] hard to believe, to say the least,” Hermer stated.

He went on to say: “Claiming that 20 people have somehow forgotten the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply lacks credibility."

Call for Leadership

“If he aspires to be seen as a credible figure for high office, he urgently needs address the concerns of the Jewish community, and say sorry to the numerous individuals he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer stated.

“Prejudice in all its forms is abhorrent to the principles of this country and we should not let it to ever become normalised in politics.”

In a separate interview, Rachel Reeves said Farage should “make a statement” 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 understand as being written in a particular way to say something, but also dodge the issue,” she remarked.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In lawyers' communications prior to the publication of the investigation, Farage’s legal team claimed that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever was involved in, supported, or led such conduct is strongly rejected”.

Farage later appeared to change his explanation in an discussion, remarking: “Have I said things decades ago that you could interpret as being playground talk, you could interpret in a modern light today in some sort of way? Yes.”

He commented that he had “never directly sought to go and harm anybody”. Farage later released a fresh denial: “I can tell you definitely that I did not say the things that have been printed aged 13, so long ago.”