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The UK's top law officer, Richard Hermer, has called on Nigel Farage to apologise to school contemporaries who assert he racially abused them during their time at school.

Hermer stated that Farage had "clearly deeply hurt" many people, based on their accounts of his actions as a youth. He commented that the leader's "shifting" denials had been less than credible.

“Throughout his answers to legitimate questions, not once has Farage genuinely condemned antisemitism,” Hermer informed a publication.

Fresh Claims Surface

A series of inquiries last month outlined the accounts of over a dozen ex-pupils of Farage from Dulwich College.

One, a former pupil, said 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 mimic the sound of the gas showers”.

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

“He approached a pupil flanked by two tall mates and spoke to anyone looking ‘other’,” the former student said. “That involved me on three occasions; asking me where I was from, and pointing away, saying: ‘That's how you get back,’ to wherever you answered you were from.”

Since then, additional individuals have emerged; around two dozen people have now alleged they were either targets of or witnesses to hurtful past behaviour by Farage.

The alleged events they outlined cover the period when Farage was aged a teenager.

Denials and Shifting Positions

The Reform leader has denied that anything he did was "directly" racist or antisemitic, and has asserted the individuals were being untruthful.

Commentators have noted that Farage has neglected to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism outright in his statements.

They also point to his failure to reprimand a party member, a MP, after she complained about the number of ethnic minorities she saw in television commercials. She later expressed regret for the comments.

“His evolving narrative about his behaviour to his Jewish classmates [is] not credible, to say the least,” Hermer said.

He added: “Suggesting that 20 people have somehow recalled incorrectly the same things about his nasty behaviour simply is not believable."

Demand for Accountability

“If he wishes to be seen as a serious contender for the top job, he must address the anxieties of the Jewish people, and say sorry to the those he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer concluded.

“Racism in all its forms is completely opposed to the values of this country and we must not permit it to ever become accepted in society.”

In a separate interview, a senior politician said Farage should “say something” if he wanted to be considered a true statesman.

“It is very telling how little he has to say, and the very careful language that both you and I would identify as being crafted in a certain style to say something, but also avoid saying certain things,” she remarked.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In formal correspondence prior to the publication of the investigation, Farage’s legal team asserted that “the implication that Mr Farage ever took part in, supported, or led such conduct is completely refuted”.

Farage later seemingly shifted his position in an interview, remarking: “Have I said things 50 years ago that you could view as being banter, you could interpret in a modern light today in a certain manner? Yes.”

He commented that he had “never directly attempted to go and upset anybody”. Farage later released a further comment: “I can tell you unequivocally that I did not say the things that have been printed when I was 13, so long ago.”