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The UK's top law officer, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has demanded the Reform UK leader to apologise to school contemporaries who assert he targeted with racist abuse them during their school days.

Hermer stated that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, based on their testimonies of his past behaviour. He added that the politician's "evolving" statements had been less than credible.

“During his answers to legitimate questions, not once has Farage actually condemned antisemitism,” Hermer informed a publication.

New Allegations Come to Light

A published report last month documented the accounts of over a dozen former classmates of Farage from a private college.

One, a former pupil, described that a 13-year-old Farage "came up to me and growl: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, sometimes adding a long hiss to mimic the sound of the Nazi gas chambers”.

Another student of colour claimed that when he was roughly nine years old, he was similarly targeted by a older Farage.

“He walked up to a pupil with two equally tall mates and addressed anyone looking ‘other’,” the former student said. “That involved me on three occasions; questioning me where I was from, and pointing away, saying: ‘That’s the way back,’ to wherever you said you were from.”

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

The alleged events they outlined cover the period when Farage was aged 13 to 18.

Denials and Shifting Positions

The Reform leader has rejected that anything he did was "directly" racist or antisemitic, and has suggested the individuals were not telling the truth.

Commentators have highlighted that Farage has not managed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism in a wider sense in his denials.

They also reference his failure to reprimand a colleague in his party, Sarah Pochin, after she expressed views about the number of ethnic minorities she saw in television commercials. She later expressed regret for the statements.

“His shifting account about his behaviour to his schoolmates [is] unconvincing, to say the least,” Hermer stated.

He continued: “Claiming that 20 people have all forgotten the same things about his nasty behaviour simply lacks credibility."

Question of Character

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

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

In a different discussion, Rachel Reeves said Farage should “speak out” if he wanted to be considered a genuine leader.

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

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In lawyers' communications before the release of the report, Farage’s lawyers asserted that “the allegation that Mr Farage ever was involved in, supported, or led this behaviour is completely refuted”.

Farage later altered his explanation in an interview, saying: “Did I say things as a youth that you could see as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a today's standards today in some way? Possibly.”

He said that he had “not once intentionally attempted to go and hurt anybody”. Farage later put out a fresh denial: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been printed aged 13, nearly 50 years ago.”