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The UK's attorney general, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has demanded Nigel Farage to apologise to former schoolmates who assert he racially abused them during their time at school.

Hermer said that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, according to their accounts of his past behaviour. He added that the leader's "evolving" explanations had been unconvincing.

“During his defensive responses to valid inquiries, not once has Farage actually condemned antisemitism,” Hermer informed a news outlet.

Further Testimonies Come to Light

A published report last month outlined the testimony of more than a dozen ex-pupils of Farage from a south London school.

One, Peter Ettedgui, said that a teenage Farage "came up to me and say: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘gas them’, occasionally including a long hiss to imitate the sound of the Nazi gas chambers”.

Another pupil from an ethnic minority claimed that when he was about nine, he was singled out 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 individual said. “That happened to me on three occasions; inquiring where I was from, and pointing away, saying: ‘That's how you get back,’ to wherever you replied you were from.”

Since then, additional individuals have emerged; approximately twenty people have now stated they were either victims of or saw hurtful actions by Farage.

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

Evolving Explanations

The political figure has denied that anything he did was "blatantly" racist or antisemitic, and has claimed the individuals were misremembering.

Critics have highlighted that Farage has failed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism outright in his statements.

They also point to his reluctance to reprimand a party member, Sarah Pochin, after she expressed views about the number of people of colour she saw in television commercials. She later expressed regret for the remarks.

“Nigel Farage’s evolving narrative about his behaviour to his schoolmates [is] unconvincing, to say the least,” Hermer stated.

He continued: “Claiming that 20 people have somehow recalled incorrectly the same things about his nasty behaviour simply is not believable."

Call for Leadership

“If he wishes to be seen as a credible figure for the top job, he has to confront the anxieties of the Jewish community, and apologise to the many people he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer concluded.

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

In a separate interview, the Chancellor said Farage should “speak out” if he wanted to look like a genuine leader.

“It is very telling how little he has to say, and the precisely drafted words that both you and I would recognise as being written in a specific manner to say something, but also dodge the issue,” she said.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

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

Farage later appeared to change his explanation in an interview, stating: “Have I said things as a youth that you could interpret as being playground talk, you could interpret in a today's standards today in some way? Yes.”

He said that he had “not ever purposely sought to go and hurt anybody”. Farage later put out a fresh denial: “I can tell you definitely that I did not say the things that have been printed as a 13-year-old, decades in the past.”