Top Law Officer Urges Reform UK Leader to Apologise Over Claimed Antisemitic and Racist Behaviour.

The UK's top law officer, Richard Hermer, has demanded Nigel Farage to issue an apology to school contemporaries who allege he targeted with racist abuse them during their years in education.

Hermer said that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, based on their testimonies of his actions as a youth. He added that the politician's "evolving" explanations had been unconvincing.

“Throughout his answers to valid inquiries, not once has Farage genuinely condemned antisemitism,” Hermer stated to a news outlet.

Further Testimonies Come to Light

A series of inquiries last month documented the accounts of more than a dozen one-time schoolmates of Farage from Dulwich College.

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

Another pupil from an ethnic minority stated that when he was roughly nine years old, he was subjected to similar treatment by a older Farage.

“He walked up to a pupil accompanied by two similarly tall mates and addressed anyone looking ‘different’,” the individual said. “That involved me on three separate times; asking me where I was from, and motioning, saying: ‘That's how you get back,’ to wherever you replied you were from.”

Since then, additional individuals have come forward; around two dozen people have now alleged they were either subject to or saw hurtful conduct by Farage.

The behaviour they described relate to the period when Farage was aged between 13 and 18.

Evolving Explanations

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

Observers have pointed out that Farage has failed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism in a wider sense in his statements.

They also reference his inability to reprimand a party member, a MP, after she expressed views about the number of black and brown people she saw in adverts. She later apologised for the remarks.

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

He added: “Arguing that two dozen individuals have somehow forgotten the same things about his nasty behaviour simply isn’t credible."

Question of Character

“If he wants to be seen as a legitimate candidate for high office, he has to acknowledge the fears of the Jewish people, and apologise to the numerous individuals he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer said.

“Racism in all its forms is abhorrent to the values of this country and we cannot allow it to ever become legitimised in society.”

In a separate interview, a senior politician said Farage should “make a statement” if he wanted to be considered a true statesman.

“It speaks volumes how little he has to say, and the very careful language that both you and I would recognise as being written in a specific manner to say something, but also dodge the issue,” she said.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In lawyers' communications before the publication of the investigation, Farage’s legal team stated that “the allegation that Mr Farage ever was involved in, approved of, or led this behaviour is strongly rejected”.

Farage later seemingly shifted his position in an discussion, stating: “Did I say things decades ago that you could view as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a today's standards today in some sort of way? Possibly.”

He commented that he had “not once intentionally really tried to go and harm anybody”. Farage later put out a further comment: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been printed as a 13-year-old, nearly 50 years ago.”