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The UK's top law officer, Richard Hermer, has urged the Reform UK leader to apologise to former schoolmates who assert he targeted with racist abuse them during their years in education.

Hermer remarked that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, based on their descriptions of his past behaviour. He noted that the leader's "shifting" explanations had been unconvincing.

“During his answers to legitimate questions, not once has Farage actually condemned antisemitism,” Hermer told a news outlet.

Further Testimonies Surface

A recent investigation last month outlined the statements of several one-time schoolmates of Farage from a private college.

One, Peter Ettedgui, recalled that a 13-year-old Farage "came up to me and utter: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘gas them’, sometimes adding 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 similarly targeted by a 17-year-old Farage.

“He approached a pupil accompanied by two tall mates and targeted anyone looking ‘unusual’,” the person said. “That included me on three occasions; questioning me where I was from, and gesturing, saying: ‘That's how you get back,’ to any place you said you were from.”

After the story broke, additional individuals have emerged; about 20 people have now stated they were either targets of or saw hurtful past behaviour by Farage.

The behaviour they described cover the period when Farage was aged a teenager.

Denials and Shifting Positions

The Reform leader has rejected that anything he did was "explicitly" racist or antisemitic, and has asserted the accusers were misremembering.

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

They also point to his inability to reprimand a fellow Reform MP, Sarah Pochin, after she complained about the number of ethnic minorities she saw in television commercials. She later expressed regret for the remarks.

“His constantly changing story about his behaviour to his peers [is] unconvincing, to say the least,” Hermer stated.

He added: “Suggesting that two dozen individuals have all recalled incorrectly the same things about his nasty behaviour simply is not believable."

Demand for Accountability

“If he aspires to be seen as a legitimate candidate for the top job, he must acknowledge the fears of the Jewish community, and say sorry to the many people he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer concluded.

“Prejudice in all its forms is completely opposed to the principles of this country and we should not let it to ever become accepted in public life.”

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

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

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In lawyers' communications before the release of the investigation, Farage’s representatives stated that “the allegation that Mr Farage ever engaged in, supported, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is completely refuted”.

Farage later altered his stance in an interview, saying: “Have I said things decades ago that you could interpret as being banter, you could interpret in a today's standards today in some sort of way? Perhaps.”

He said that he had “never directly really tried to go and hurt anybody”. Farage subsequently issued a new statement: “I can tell you definitely that I did not say the things that have been printed when I was 13, nearly 50 years ago.”