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The UK's top law officer, Richard Hermer, has urged the Reform UK leader to apologise to former schoolmates who allege he targeted with racist abuse them during their time at school.

Hermer remarked that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, judging by their testimonies of his actions as a youth. He added that the leader's "evolving" statements had been less than credible.

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

Fresh Claims Come to Light

A published report last month detailed the testimony of more than a dozen ex-pupils of Farage from a private college.

One, a former pupil, recalled that a teenage Farage "would approach me and say: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘gas them’, sometimes adding a long hiss to mimic the sound of the Nazi gas chambers”.

Another minority ethnic pupil stated that when he was roughly nine years old, he was similarly targeted by a older Farage.

“He walked up to a pupil flanked by two equally tall mates and spoke to anyone looking ‘other’,” the former student said. “That involved me on three separate times; inquiring where I was from, and motioning, saying: ‘That's how you get back,’ to any place you answered you were from.”

Since then, more people have stepped forward; around two dozen people have now claimed they were either victims of or observed highly inappropriate actions by Farage.

The alleged events they outlined relate to the period when Farage was aged 13 to 18.

Changing Stories

The Reform leader has disputed that anything he did was "directly" racist or antisemitic, and has suggested the accusers were not telling the truth.

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

They also cite his failure to discipline a fellow Reform MP, Sarah Pochin, after she complained about the number of ethnic minorities she saw in adverts. She later apologised for the remarks.

“Nigel Farage’s constantly changing story about his behaviour to his schoolmates [is] unconvincing, to say the least,” Hermer said.

He went on to say: “Suggesting that 20 people have somehow forgotten the same things about his offensive behaviour simply is not believable."

Call for Leadership

“If he wants to be seen as a serious contender for prime minister, he must acknowledge the concerns of the Jewish people, and apologise to the those he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer said.

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

In a different discussion, Rachel Reeves said Farage should “say something” if he wanted to be considered a genuine leader.

“It says a lot how very little he has to say, and the precisely drafted words that both you and I would understand as being drafted in a specific manner to say something, but also not to say something,” she said.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In legal letters before the publication of the report, Farage’s representatives claimed that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever was involved in, supported, or led such conduct is strongly rejected”.

Farage later altered his explanation in an discussion, saying: “Have I said things decades ago that you could view as being playground talk, you could interpret in a contemporary context today in a certain manner? Perhaps.”

He said that he had “not once intentionally really tried to go and hurt anybody”. Farage afterwards put out a fresh denial: “I can tell you definitely that I did not say the things that have been printed aged 13, nearly 50 years ago.”