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The United Kingdom's attorney general, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has urged the Reform UK leader to apologise to school contemporaries who assert he targeted with racist abuse them during their school days.

Hermer said that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, based on their descriptions of his alleged conduct. He commented that the politician's "evolving" statements had been unconvincing.

“In his replies to legitimate questions, not once has Farage truly condemned antisemitism,” Hermer informed a news outlet.

New Allegations Surface

A published report last month detailed the statements of more than a dozen former classmates of Farage from Dulwich College.

One, a former pupil, described that a 13-year-old Farage "came up to me and say: ‘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 stated that when he was about nine, he was similarly targeted by a older Farage.

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

Following the initial report, additional individuals have emerged; approximately twenty people have now claimed they were either targets of or observed highly inappropriate conduct by Farage.

The behaviour they described cover the period when Farage was aged 13 to 18.

Changing Stories

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

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

They also cite his inability to reprimand a party member, Sarah Pochin, after she expressed views about the number of people of colour she saw in adverts. She later apologised for the remarks.

“Nigel Farage’s evolving narrative about his behaviour to his Jewish classmates [is] unconvincing, to say the least,” Hermer said.

He went on to say: “Arguing that two dozen individuals have somehow recalled incorrectly the same things about his nasty behaviour simply lacks credibility."

Call for Leadership

“If he wishes to be seen as a serious contender for prime minister, he must address the concerns of the Jewish community, and say sorry to the many people he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer stated.

“Racism in all its forms is abhorrent to the standards of this country and we should not let it to ever become normalised in society.”

In a separate interview, Rachel Reeves said Farage should “speak out” if he wanted to be considered a genuine leader.

“It says a lot how little he has to say, and the very careful language that both you and I would recognise as being written in a certain style to communicate, but also avoid saying certain things,” she noted.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In formal correspondence before the publication of the report, Farage’s representatives stated that “the implication that Mr Farage ever took part in, condoned, or led such conduct is categorically denied”.

Farage later appeared to change his explanation in an appearance, stating: “Did I say things as a youth that you could see as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a today's standards today in some way? Yes.”

He commented that he had “not once intentionally sought to go and hurt anybody”. Farage subsequently issued a new statement: “I can tell you definitely that I did not say the things that have been published as a 13-year-old, nearly 50 years ago.”