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The United Kingdom's top law officer, Richard Hermer, has called on Nigel Farage to issue an apology to former schoolmates who allege he targeted with racist abuse them during their time at school.

Hermer said that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, based on their descriptions of his alleged conduct. He commented that the leader's "evolving" explanations had been less than credible.

“In his defensive responses to legitimate questions, not once has Farage actually condemned antisemitism,” Hermer told a publication.

Fresh Claims Come to Light

A series of inquiries last month outlined the accounts of more than a dozen ex-pupils of Farage from a south London school.

One, Peter Ettedgui, said that a teenage Farage "would approach me and growl: ‘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 minority ethnic pupil claimed that when he was about nine, he was subjected to similar treatment by a 17-year-old Farage.

“He walked up to a pupil accompanied by two similarly tall mates and targeted anyone looking ‘unusual’,” the individual said. “That involved me on three occasions; inquiring where I was from, and pointing away, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to wherever you replied you were from.”

Since then, others have stepped forward; approximately twenty people have now alleged they were either subject to or observed highly inappropriate actions by Farage.

The incidents they described span the period when Farage was aged between 13 and 18.

Evolving Explanations

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

Observers have pointed out that Farage has failed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism more broadly in his statements.

They also reference his reluctance to discipline a fellow Reform MP, a MP, after she expressed views about the number of black and brown people she saw in television commercials. She later expressed regret for the comments.

“His evolving narrative about his behaviour to his peers [is] unconvincing, to say the least,” Hermer stated.

He added: “Suggesting that a group of people have all forgotten the same things about his nasty behaviour simply isn’t credible."

Question of Character

“If he wishes to be seen as a serious contender for the top job, he urgently needs confront the concerns of the Jewish people, and apologise to the numerous individuals he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer said.

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

In a different discussion, a senior politician said Farage should “speak out” if he wanted to appear as a genuine leader.

“It says a lot how little he has to say, and the very careful language that both you and I would understand as being crafted in a particular way to say something, but also dodge the issue,” she said.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In formal correspondence before the publication of the report, Farage’s legal team claimed that “the implication that Mr Farage ever was involved in, approved of, or led such conduct is completely refuted”.

Farage later seemingly shifted his explanation in an appearance, saying: “Did I say things 50 years ago that you could see as being playground talk, you could interpret in a today's standards today in some way? Yes.”

He added that he had “not once intentionally really tried to go and hurt anybody”. Farage afterwards put out a fresh denial: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been printed as a 13-year-old, so long ago.”