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The UK's attorney general, Richard Hermer, has urged Nigel Farage to issue an apology to former schoolmates who claim he racially abused them during their school days.

Hermer said that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, according to their testimonies of his actions as a youth. He added that the leader's "shifting" explanations had been less than credible.

“In his defensive responses to valid inquiries, not once has Farage truly condemned antisemitism,” Hermer told a news outlet.

Fresh Claims Emerge

A recent investigation last month detailed the statements of more than a dozen ex-pupils of Farage from a south London school.

One, Peter Ettedgui, recalled that a 13-year-old Farage "would approach me and growl: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘gas them’, sometimes adding a long hiss to imitate the sound of the Nazi gas chambers”.

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

“He came over to a pupil accompanied by two similarly tall mates and targeted anyone looking ‘unusual’,” the person said. “That happened to me on three separate times; asking me where I was from, and motioning, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to any place you said you were from.”

After the story broke, more people have emerged; around two dozen people have now alleged they were either targets of or saw deeply offensive conduct by Farage.

The incidents they outlined relate to the period when Farage was aged between 13 and 18.

Denials and Shifting Positions

The Reform leader has denied that anything he did was "blatantly" racist or antisemitic, and has suggested the former classmates were misremembering.

Critics have pointed out that Farage has not managed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism more broadly in his statements.

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

“His shifting account about his behaviour to his schoolmates [is] not credible, to say the least,” Hermer stated.

He added: “Claiming that two dozen individuals have all recalled incorrectly the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply lacks credibility."

Demand for Accountability

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

“Racism in all its forms is abhorrent to the values of this country and we cannot allow it to ever become normalised in public life.”

In a separate interview, the Chancellor said Farage should “make a statement” if he wanted to be considered a true statesman.

“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 certain style to communicate, but also dodge the issue,” she said.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In formal correspondence before the publication of the investigation, Farage’s representatives asserted that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever was involved in, condoned, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is strongly rejected”.

Farage later altered his explanation in an appearance, stating: “Have I said things decades ago that you could interpret as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a modern light today in some sort of way? Possibly.”

He said that he had “not once intentionally really tried to go and upset anybody”. Farage afterwards put out a new statement: “I can tell you unequivocally that I did not say the things that have been printed aged 13, so long ago.”