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The UK's top law officer, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has demanded the Reform UK leader to apologise to former schoolmates who claim he targeted with racist abuse them during their time at school.

Hermer remarked that Farage had "clearly deeply hurt" many people, according to their accounts of his actions as a youth. He added that the leader's "constantly changing" explanations had been unconvincing.

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

Further Testimonies Come to Light

A published report last month documented the statements of more than a dozen one-time schoolmates of Farage from Dulwich College.

One, a former pupil, said that a 13-year-old Farage "came up to me and growl: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, sometimes adding a long hiss to imitate the sound of the gas showers”.

Another minority ethnic pupil alleged that when he was about nine, he was similarly targeted by a 17-year-old Farage.

“He came over to a pupil accompanied by two equally tall mates and targeted anyone looking ‘unusual’,” the former student said. “That involved me on three separate times; questioning me where I was from, and motioning, saying: ‘That's how you get back,’ to any place you answered you were from.”

Following the initial report, more people have come forward; about 20 people have now claimed they were either subject to or witnesses to highly inappropriate past behaviour by Farage.

The incidents they described relate to the period when Farage was aged a teenager.

Denials and Shifting Positions

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

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

They also reference his reluctance to reprimand a party member, Sarah Pochin, after she complained about the number of black and brown people she saw in television commercials. She later apologised for the statements.

“Nigel Farage’s evolving narrative about his behaviour to his peers [is] not credible, to say the least,” Hermer commented.

He added: “Suggesting that 20 people have somehow misremembered the same things about his offensive behaviour simply is not believable."

Question of Character

“If he wishes to be seen as a credible figure for high office, he urgently needs address the fears of the Jewish people, and say sorry to the numerous individuals he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer concluded.

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

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

“It speaks volumes how very little he has to say, and the guarded phrasing that both you and I would understand as being drafted in a particular way to say something, but also avoid saying certain things,” she said.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In lawyers' communications before the release of the report, Farage’s legal team claimed that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever took part in, supported, or led this behaviour is strongly rejected”.

Farage later appeared to change his stance in an interview, remarking: “Have I said things decades ago that you could see as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a today's standards today in some sort of way? Possibly.”

He said that he had “not once intentionally sought to go and upset anybody”. Farage later put out a fresh denial: “I can tell you definitely that I did not say the things that have been reported as a 13-year-old, decades in the past.”