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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 claim he racially abused them during their time at school.

Hermer said that Farage had "clearly deeply hurt" many people, based on their descriptions of his alleged conduct. He commented that the leader's "constantly changing" explanations had been less than credible.

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

Fresh Claims Come to Light

A recent investigation last month detailed the accounts of over a dozen former classmates of Farage from Dulwich College.

One, a former pupil, said that a teenage Farage "would approach me and utter: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, sometimes adding a long hiss to mimic the sound of the gas showers”.

Another pupil from an ethnic minority claimed that when he was roughly nine years old, he was similarly targeted by a 17-year-old Farage.

“He came over to a pupil with two equally tall mates and addressed anyone looking ‘unusual’,” the former student said. “That happened to me on three separate times; inquiring where I was from, and gesturing, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to any place you answered you were from.”

After the story broke, additional individuals have emerged; approximately twenty people have now stated they were either subject to or observed hurtful conduct by Farage.

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

Changing Stories

The Reform leader has rejected that anything he did was "directly" racist or antisemitic, and has suggested the former classmates were being untruthful.

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

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

“His constantly changing story about his behaviour to his schoolmates [is] not credible, to say the least,” Hermer stated.

He continued: “Arguing that a group of people have somehow recalled incorrectly the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply isn’t credible."

Demand for Accountability

“If he wants to be seen as a serious contender for the top job, he must acknowledge the concerns of the Jewish people, and say sorry to the numerous individuals he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer concluded.

“Bigotry in all its forms is abhorrent to the principles of this country and we must not permit it to ever become normalised in public life.”

In a other comments, the Chancellor said Farage should “say something” if he wanted to look like a genuine leader.

“It is very telling how little he has to say, and the very careful language that both you and I would identify as being drafted in a specific manner to communicate, but also dodge the issue,” she said.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In legal letters prior to the release of the investigation, Farage’s legal team stated that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever was involved in, condoned, or led this behaviour is strongly rejected”.

Farage later seemingly shifted his explanation in an appearance, remarking: “Have I said things as a youth that you could view as being playground talk, you could interpret in a modern light today in some sort of way? Yes.”

He said that he had “never directly sought to go and upset anybody”. Farage afterwards issued a further comment: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been printed as a 13-year-old, so long ago.”