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The UK's top law officer, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has urged Nigel Farage to issue an apology to former schoolmates who assert he targeted with racist abuse them during their school days.

Hermer stated that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, based on their descriptions of his actions as a youth. He noted that the leader's "evolving" statements had been less than credible.

“Throughout his replies to valid inquiries, not once has Farage genuinely condemned antisemitism,” Hermer told a publication.

Fresh Claims Surface

A recent investigation last month detailed the accounts of several one-time schoolmates of Farage from a south London school.

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

“He came over to a pupil accompanied by two similarly tall mates and addressed anyone looking ‘unusual’,” the person said. “That included me on three separate times; questioning me where I was from, and motioning, saying: ‘That’s the way back,’ to wherever you answered you were from.”

After the story broke, others have emerged; around two dozen people have now stated they were either subject to or saw hurtful conduct by Farage.

The alleged events they recounted span the period when Farage was aged between 13 and 18.

Changing Stories

The political figure has rejected that anything he did was "directly" racist or antisemitic, and has asserted the individuals were misremembering.

Observers have highlighted that Farage has failed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism in a wider sense in his responses.

They also point to his reluctance to discipline a colleague in his party, Sarah Pochin, after she made remarks about the number of black and brown people she saw in television commercials. She later said sorry for the comments.

“His constantly changing story about his behaviour to his peers [is] not credible, to say the least,” Hermer said.

He went on to say: “Suggesting that two dozen individuals have somehow misremembered the same things about his nasty behaviour simply is not believable."

Question of Character

“If he aspires to be seen as a serious contender for the top job, he must acknowledge the anxieties of the Jewish community, and say sorry to the numerous individuals he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer concluded.

“Prejudice in all its forms is completely opposed to the standards of this country and we cannot allow it to ever become accepted in public life.”

In a separate interview, the Chancellor said Farage should “speak out” if he wanted to appear as a true statesman.

“It speaks volumes how very little he has to say, and the precisely drafted words that both you and I would understand as being drafted in a certain style to say something, but also avoid saying certain things,” she noted.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In formal correspondence before the publication of the investigation, Farage’s lawyers stated that “the implication that Mr Farage ever took part in, approved of, or led this behaviour is strongly rejected”.

Farage later seemingly shifted his stance in an interview, stating: “Did I say things as a youth that you could see as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a contemporary context today in some sort of way? Possibly.”

He commented that he had “never directly really tried to go and harm anybody”. Farage subsequently issued a fresh denial: “I can tell you unequivocally that I did not say the things that have been reported as a 13-year-old, nearly 50 years ago.”