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The UK's attorney general, Richard Hermer, has demanded the Reform UK leader to issue an apology to school contemporaries who assert he racially abused them during their years in education.

Hermer said that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, according to their testimonies of his past behaviour. He commented that the leader's "evolving" denials had been difficult to believe.

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

Further Testimonies Come to Light

A recent investigation last month documented the accounts of several former classmates of Farage from a south London school.

One, a former pupil, described that a 13-year-old Farage "came up to me and utter: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘gas them’, at times making a long hiss to mimic the sound of the Nazi gas chambers”.

Another pupil from an ethnic minority stated 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 spoke to anyone looking ‘unusual’,” the person said. “That happened to me on three occasions; asking me where I was from, and motioning, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to any place you said you were from.”

After the story broke, more people have emerged; approximately twenty people have now claimed they were either victims of or witnesses to deeply offensive past behaviour by Farage.

The alleged events they recounted relate to the period when Farage was aged a teenager.

Denials and Shifting Positions

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

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

They also cite his reluctance to reprimand a fellow Reform MP, a MP, after she expressed views about the number of black and brown people she saw in television commercials. She later expressed regret for the comments.

“Nigel Farage’s evolving narrative about his behaviour to his peers [is] hard to believe, to say the least,” Hermer commented.

He continued: “Arguing that 20 people have all recalled incorrectly the same things about his offensive behaviour simply is not believable."

Demand for Accountability

“If he wishes to be seen as a serious contender for the top job, he must confront the concerns of the Jewish community, and apologise to the numerous individuals he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer said.

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

In a different discussion, a senior politician said Farage should “say something” if he wanted to be considered a genuine leader.

“It speaks volumes how little he has to say, and the guarded phrasing that both you and I would understand as being drafted in a certain style to communicate, but also not to say something,” she noted.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In lawyers' communications prior to the release of the report, Farage’s lawyers claimed that “the allegation that Mr Farage ever engaged in, condoned, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is categorically denied”.

Farage later seemingly shifted his stance in an interview, saying: “Have I said things as a youth that you could view as being banter, you could interpret in a today's standards today in a certain manner? Yes.”

He commented that he had “never directly attempted to go and harm anybody”. Farage subsequently released a fresh denial: “I can tell you unequivocally that I did not say the things that have been reported as a 13-year-old, nearly 50 years ago.”