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The United Kingdom's attorney general, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has demanded Nigel Farage to apologise to former schoolmates who allege he targeted with racist abuse them during their years in education.

Hermer said that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, judging by their testimonies of his actions as a youth. He noted that the politician's "constantly changing" statements had been unconvincing.

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

New Allegations Surface

A recent investigation last month detailed the testimony of over a dozen one-time schoolmates of Farage from a south London school.

One, Peter Ettedgui, said that a teenage Farage "would approach me and utter: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, sometimes adding a long hiss to simulate the sound of the gas showers”.

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

“He approached a pupil accompanied by two similarly tall mates and targeted anyone looking ‘different’,” the individual said. “That included me on three separate times; asking me where I was from, and pointing away, saying: ‘That’s the way back,’ to wherever you answered you were from.”

Following the initial report, others have emerged; around two dozen people have now claimed they were either subject to or observed hurtful actions by Farage.

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

Changing Stories

The Reform leader has rejected that anything he did was "blatantly" racist or antisemitic, and has suggested the former classmates were not telling the truth.

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

They also cite his inability to discipline a party member, a MP, after she made remarks about the number of black and brown people she saw in adverts. She later apologised for the comments.

“His shifting account about his behaviour to his Jewish classmates [is] hard to believe, to say the least,” Hermer stated.

He went on to say: “Claiming that two dozen individuals have all misremembered the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply isn’t credible."

Demand for Accountability

“If he wishes to be seen as a legitimate candidate for prime minister, he urgently needs confront the anxieties of the Jewish community, and say sorry to the many people he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer stated.

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

In a other comments, the Chancellor said Farage should “make a statement” 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 recognise as being drafted in a certain style to say something, but also not to say something,” she said.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In formal correspondence prior to the publication of the report, Farage’s representatives claimed that “the implication that Mr Farage ever took part in, supported, or led this behaviour is completely refuted”.

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

He commented that he had “not ever purposely really tried to go and hurt anybody”. Farage subsequently put out a further comment: “I can tell you unequivocally that I did not say the things that have been reported aged 13, nearly 50 years ago.”