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The United Kingdom's top law officer, Richard Hermer, has urged Nigel Farage to issue an apology to school contemporaries who claim he targeted with racist abuse them during their school days.

Hermer stated that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, judging by their accounts of his past behaviour. He added that the leader's "shifting" denials had been less than credible.

“Throughout his defensive responses to legitimate questions, not once has Farage actually condemned antisemitism,” Hermer informed a news outlet.

Fresh Claims Emerge

A published report last month outlined the accounts of over a dozen ex-pupils of Farage from a private college.

One, a former pupil, said that a teenage Farage "would sidle up to me and say: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘gas them’, at times making a long hiss to imitate the sound of the gas showers”.

Another student of colour alleged that when he was roughly nine years old, he was singled out by a 17-year-old Farage.

“He came over to a pupil flanked by two equally tall mates and addressed anyone looking ‘different’,” the former student said. “That happened to me on three separate times; questioning me where I was from, and gesturing, saying: ‘That's how you get back,’ to any place you replied you were from.”

Since then, others have come forward; approximately twenty people have now stated they were either subject to or witnesses to hurtful actions by Farage.

The alleged events they described span the period when Farage was aged 13 to 18.

Changing Stories

The political figure has rejected that anything he did was "blatantly" racist or antisemitic, and has suggested the former classmates were misremembering.

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

They also reference his reluctance to sanction a party member, a MP, after she made remarks about the number of black and brown people she saw in adverts. She later said sorry for the statements.

“Nigel Farage’s shifting account about his behaviour to his peers [is] unconvincing, to say the least,” Hermer said.

He continued: “Claiming that a group of people have somehow forgotten the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply isn’t credible."

Call for Leadership

“If he wants to be seen as a credible figure for the top job, he urgently needs confront the fears of the Jewish people, and say sorry to the numerous individuals he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer stated.

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

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

“It says a lot how very little he has to say, and the very careful language that both you and I would identify as being drafted in a particular way to say something, but also avoid saying certain things,” she said.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In legal letters before the publication of the investigation, Farage’s lawyers asserted that “the implication that Mr Farage ever engaged in, approved of, or led this behaviour is strongly rejected”.

Farage later appeared to change his position in an discussion, remarking: “Have I said things 50 years ago that you could see as being playground talk, you could interpret in a modern light today in a certain manner? Yes.”

He commented that he had “not once intentionally sought to go and harm anybody”. Farage subsequently put out a further comment: “I can tell you unequivocally that I did not say the things that have been printed aged 13, so long ago.”