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The UK's attorney general, Richard Hermer, has called on the Reform UK leader to apologise to former schoolmates who assert he racially abused them during their school days.

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

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

New Allegations Emerge

A published report last month detailed the testimony of more than a dozen one-time schoolmates of Farage from a south London school.

One, a former pupil, said that a teenage Farage "would approach me and growl: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘gas them’, occasionally including a long hiss to imitate the sound of the gas showers”.

Another pupil from an ethnic minority claimed that when he was about nine, he was subjected to similar treatment by a older Farage.

“He approached a pupil accompanied by two tall mates and targeted anyone looking ‘different’,” the person said. “That involved me on three separate times; questioning me where I was from, and pointing away, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to wherever you said you were from.”

Following the initial report, more people have come forward; around two dozen people have now stated they were either victims of or saw highly inappropriate actions by Farage.

The incidents they outlined span the period when Farage was aged between 13 and 18.

Evolving Explanations

The Reform leader has disputed that anything he did was "directly" racist or antisemitic, and has claimed the individuals were misremembering.

Commentators have pointed out that Farage has not managed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism in a wider sense in his denials.

They also point to his failure to sanction a colleague in his party, a MP, after she expressed views about the number of black and brown people she saw in television commercials. She later apologised for the comments.

“His evolving narrative about his behaviour to his Jewish classmates [is] not credible, to say the least,” Hermer said.

He added: “Suggesting that 20 people have somehow forgotten 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 high office, he must address the fears of the Jewish community, and apologise to the those he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer concluded.

“Prejudice in all its forms is completely opposed to the values of this country and we must not permit it to ever become normalised in politics.”

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

“It speaks volumes 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 dodge the issue,” she noted.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In lawyers' communications before the publication of the report, Farage’s legal team stated that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever took part in, condoned, or led this behaviour is completely refuted”.

Farage later appeared to change his stance in an appearance, stating: “Have I said things 50 years ago that you could interpret as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a contemporary context today in a certain manner? Perhaps.”

He said that he had “never directly sought to go and harm anybody”. Farage afterwards issued a new statement: “I can tell you definitely that I did not say the things that have been published aged 13, decades in the past.”