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The UK's attorney general, Richard Hermer, has demanded Nigel Farage to apologise to school contemporaries who assert he racially abused them during their time at school.

Hermer said that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, according to their descriptions of his actions as a youth. He commented that the politician's "constantly changing" explanations had been less than credible.

“During his replies to legitimate questions, not once has Farage genuinely condemned antisemitism,” Hermer told a publication.

New Allegations Emerge

A published report last month documented the statements of several former classmates of Farage from Dulwich College.

One, a former pupil, recalled that a 13-year-old Farage "came up to me and utter: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, sometimes adding a long hiss to imitate the sound of the Nazi gas chambers”.

Another student of colour claimed that when he was roughly nine years old, he was singled out by a older Farage.

“He approached a pupil accompanied by two similarly tall mates and addressed anyone looking ‘unusual’,” the former student said. “That included me on three separate times; questioning me where I was from, and gesturing, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to wherever you replied you were from.”

Following the initial report, more people have come forward; about 20 people have now stated they were either subject to or saw highly inappropriate actions by Farage.

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

Denials and Shifting Positions

The Reform leader has disputed that anything he did was "directly" racist or antisemitic, and has asserted the accusers were not telling the truth.

Commentators have noted that Farage has neglected to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism in a wider sense in his denials.

They also point to his reluctance to sanction a party member, Sarah Pochin, after she expressed views about the number of black and brown people she saw in adverts. She later apologised for the statements.

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

He continued: “Arguing that two dozen individuals have somehow misremembered the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply is not believable."

Call for Leadership

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

“Bigotry in all its forms is abhorrent to the standards of this country and we must not permit it to ever become accepted in society.”

In a other comments, the Chancellor said Farage should “make a statement” if he wanted to look like a real leader.

“It says a lot 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 communicate, but also dodge the issue,” she remarked.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In formal correspondence prior to the release of the investigation, Farage’s legal team asserted that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever took part in, supported, or led this behaviour is strongly rejected”.

Farage later appeared to change his stance in an appearance, stating: “Did I say things as a youth that you could view as being banter, you could interpret in a contemporary context today in some sort of way? Possibly.”

He added that he had “never directly sought to go and harm anybody”. Farage afterwards released a further comment: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been printed when I was 13, decades in the past.”