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The United Kingdom's attorney general, Richard Hermer, has called on Nigel Farage to issue an apology to school contemporaries who assert he targeted with racist abuse them during their time at school.

Hermer said that Farage had "clearly deeply hurt" many people, judging by their descriptions of his alleged conduct. He noted that the politician's "evolving" denials had been less than credible.

“Throughout his defensive responses to valid inquiries, not once has Farage genuinely condemned antisemitism,” Hermer stated to a publication.

Further Testimonies Surface

A published report last month detailed the testimony of several one-time schoolmates of Farage from Dulwich College.

One, Peter Ettedgui, recalled that a 13-year-old Farage "would sidle up to me and utter: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘gas them’, occasionally including a long hiss to simulate the sound of the Nazi gas chambers”.

Another student of colour claimed that when he was about nine, he was subjected to similar treatment by a 17-year-old Farage.

“He approached a pupil flanked by two similarly tall mates and addressed anyone looking ‘different’,” the former student said. “That involved me on three occasions; inquiring where I was from, and pointing away, saying: ‘That's how you get back,’ to any place you said you were from.”

Following the initial report, others have emerged; around two dozen people have now alleged they were either subject to or witnesses to highly inappropriate conduct by Farage.

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

Evolving Explanations

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

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

They also cite his reluctance to discipline a fellow Reform MP, a MP, after she complained about the number of ethnic minorities she saw in adverts. She later expressed regret for the statements.

“Nigel Farage’s shifting account about his behaviour to his Jewish classmates [is] unconvincing, to say the least,” Hermer said.

He continued: “Claiming that a group of people have somehow misremembered the same things about his nasty behaviour simply is not believable."

Demand for Accountability

“If he wants to be seen as a serious contender for high office, he has to confront the fears of the Jewish people, and apologise to the many people he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer stated.

“Bigotry in all its forms is abhorrent to the standards of this country and we cannot allow it to ever become legitimised in public life.”

In a other comments, a senior politician said Farage should “say something” if he wanted to be considered a true statesman.

“It is very telling how little he has to say, and the precisely drafted words that both you and I would recognise as being crafted in a certain style to communicate, but also avoid saying certain things,” she noted.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In formal correspondence prior to the publication of the investigation, Farage’s representatives asserted that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever was involved in, condoned, or led such conduct is completely refuted”.

Farage later altered his position in an appearance, saying: “Did I say things 50 years ago that you could view as being banter, you could interpret in a modern light today in some way? Yes.”

He said that he had “not once intentionally attempted to go and hurt anybody”. Farage subsequently put out a new statement: “I can tell you unequivocally that I did not say the things that have been published as a 13-year-old, decades in the past.”