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The UK's attorney general, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has demanded Nigel Farage to apologise to former schoolmates who claim he racially abused them during their time at school.

Hermer remarked that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, according to their descriptions of his actions as a youth. He noted that the leader's "evolving" explanations had been less than credible.

“During his defensive responses to valid inquiries, not once has Farage truly condemned antisemitism,” Hermer told a publication.

Further Testimonies Surface

A recent investigation last month detailed the statements of several one-time schoolmates of Farage from Dulwich College.

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

Another pupil from an ethnic minority claimed that when he was about nine, he was similarly targeted by a older Farage.

“He approached a pupil accompanied by two similarly tall mates and addressed anyone looking ‘other’,” the former student said. “That involved me on three occasions; questioning me where I was from, and motioning, saying: ‘That’s the way back,’ to any place you answered you were from.”

After the story broke, more people have stepped forward; around two dozen people have now stated they were either subject to or witnesses to deeply offensive past behaviour by Farage.

The incidents they outlined span the period when Farage was aged a teenager.

Denials and Shifting Positions

The political figure has rejected that anything he did was "blatantly" racist or antisemitic, and has claimed the accusers were not telling the truth.

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

They also point to his reluctance to sanction a party member, a MP, after she made remarks about the number of ethnic minorities she saw in television commercials. She later apologised for the statements.

“His evolving narrative about his behaviour to his peers [is] unconvincing, to say the least,” Hermer stated.

He continued: “Suggesting that a group of people have all recalled incorrectly the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply is not believable."

Call for Leadership

“If he wants to be seen as a serious contender for prime minister, he urgently needs acknowledge the fears of the Jewish community, and apologise to the those he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer concluded.

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

In a different discussion, the Chancellor said Farage should “make a statement” if he wanted to be considered a real leader.

“It is very telling how very little he has to say, and the precisely drafted words that both you and I would understand as being crafted in a particular way to communicate, but also not to say something,” she remarked.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In legal letters prior to the release of the report, Farage’s representatives stated that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever engaged in, condoned, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is categorically denied”.

Farage later appeared to change his explanation in an discussion, stating: “Did I say things 50 years ago that you could view as being playground talk, you could interpret in a contemporary context today in some sort of way? Yes.”

He said that he had “not once intentionally sought to go and hurt anybody”. Farage afterwards issued a further comment: “I can tell you unequivocally that I did not say the things that have been printed when I was 13, decades in the past.”