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The UK's top law officer, Richard Hermer, has urged the Reform UK leader to apologise to former schoolmates who claim he targeted with racist abuse them during their time at school.

Hermer remarked that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, judging by their accounts of his past behaviour. He added that the politician's "evolving" denials had been unconvincing.

“Throughout his replies to legitimate questions, not once has Farage genuinely condemned antisemitism,” Hermer stated to a news outlet.

Fresh Claims Surface

A published report last month detailed the testimony 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: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘gas them’, sometimes adding a long hiss to simulate the sound of the gas showers”.

Another minority ethnic pupil claimed that when he was about nine, he was similarly targeted by a older Farage.

“He approached a pupil with two equally tall mates and spoke to anyone looking ‘different’,” the individual said. “That happened to me on three separate times; inquiring where I was from, and gesturing, saying: ‘That’s the way back,’ to wherever you replied you were from.”

Following the initial report, more people have emerged; around two dozen people have now claimed they were either subject to or saw deeply offensive conduct by Farage.

The incidents they described cover the period when Farage was aged a teenager.

Changing Stories

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

Critics have noted that Farage has not managed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism more broadly in his denials.

They also point to his inability to reprimand a colleague in his party, Sarah Pochin, after she complained about the number of ethnic minorities she saw in adverts. She later apologised for the comments.

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

He went on to say: “Claiming that 20 people have somehow forgotten the same things about his offensive behaviour simply lacks credibility."

Call for Leadership

“If he wishes to be seen as a legitimate candidate for the top job, he urgently needs acknowledge the fears of the Jewish community, and apologise to the many people he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer concluded.

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

In a other comments, Rachel Reeves said Farage should “make a statement” if he wanted to be considered a real leader.

“It speaks volumes how little he has to say, and the precisely drafted words that both you and I would identify as being drafted in a certain style to communicate, but also not to say something,” she said.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In legal letters before the publication of the report, Farage’s lawyers stated that “the implication that Mr Farage ever took part in, approved of, or led such conduct is categorically denied”.

Farage later seemingly shifted his stance in an interview, 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 some way? Perhaps.”

He said that he had “never directly sought to go and harm anybody”. Farage subsequently issued a further comment: “I can tell you definitely that I did not say the things that have been published as a 13-year-old, nearly 50 years ago.”