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The UK's top law officer, Richard Hermer, has called on Nigel Farage to issue an apology to former schoolmates who allege he racially abused them during their years in education.

Hermer stated that Farage had "clearly deeply hurt" many people, according to their testimonies of his past behaviour. He commented that the politician's "constantly changing" statements had been less than credible.

“During his defensive responses to legitimate questions, not once has Farage truly condemned antisemitism,” Hermer stated to a news outlet.

Further Testimonies Emerge

A series of inquiries last month documented the testimony of more than a dozen former classmates of Farage from Dulwich College.

One, Peter Ettedgui, said that a teenage Farage "came up to me and utter: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘gas them’, occasionally including a long hiss to mimic the sound of the gas showers”.

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

“He came over to a pupil with two equally tall mates and spoke to anyone looking ‘other’,” the person said. “That happened to me on three occasions; inquiring where I was from, and gesturing, saying: ‘That's how you get back,’ to any place you said you were from.”

Since then, additional individuals have emerged; around two dozen people have now claimed they were either subject to or witnesses to highly inappropriate actions by Farage.

The alleged events they described span the period when Farage was aged a teenager.

Evolving Explanations

The political figure has disputed that anything he did was "blatantly" racist or antisemitic, and has suggested the former classmates were misremembering.

Observers have noted that Farage has neglected to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism outright in his statements.

They also cite his inability to discipline a colleague in his party, Sarah Pochin, after she expressed views about the number of people of colour she saw in television commercials. She later apologised for the comments.

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

He continued: “Claiming that two dozen individuals have all forgotten the same things about his nasty behaviour simply is not believable."

Call for Leadership

“If he aspires to be seen as a serious contender for high office, he urgently needs address the fears of the Jewish people, and say sorry to the numerous individuals he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer stated.

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

In a separate interview, Rachel Reeves said Farage should “speak out” if he wanted to appear as a real leader.

“It is very telling how little he has to say, and the very careful language that both you and I would understand as being crafted in a particular way to say something, but also avoid saying certain things,” she remarked.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In legal letters before the release of the investigation, Farage’s representatives stated that “the implication that Mr Farage ever was involved in, approved of, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is categorically denied”.

Farage later altered his position in an interview, remarking: “Did I say things decades ago that you could interpret as being banter, you could interpret in a modern light today in some sort of way? Perhaps.”

He said that he had “not ever purposely attempted to go and harm anybody”. Farage later released a further comment: “I can tell you unequivocally that I did not say the things that have been reported when I was 13, decades in the past.”