Attorney General Calls On Reform UK Leader to Say Sorry Over Claimed Antisemitic and Racist Behaviour.

The UK's top law officer, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has demanded Nigel Farage to apologise to former schoolmates who claim he racially abused them during their years in education.

Hermer remarked that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, according to their accounts of his past behaviour. He added that the leader's "constantly changing" denials had been difficult to believe.

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

New Allegations Come to Light

A recent investigation last month documented the accounts of several former classmates of Farage from a south London school.

One, Peter Ettedgui, recalled that a 13-year-old Farage "came up to me and utter: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, at times making a long hiss to imitate the sound of the gas showers”.

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

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

After the story broke, others have stepped forward; about 20 people have now claimed they were either targets of or saw hurtful conduct by Farage.

The incidents they recounted relate to the period when Farage was aged between 13 and 18.

Evolving Explanations

The political figure has denied that anything he did was "explicitly" racist or antisemitic, and has claimed the former classmates were not telling the truth.

Observers have pointed out that Farage has neglected to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism more broadly in his responses.

They also cite his failure to discipline a colleague in his party, a MP, after she made remarks about the number of people of colour she saw in television commercials. She later expressed regret for the statements.

“His shifting account about his behaviour to his schoolmates [is] not credible, to say the least,” Hermer commented.

He continued: “Claiming that 20 people have somehow misremembered the same things about his offensive behaviour simply isn’t credible."

Question of Character

“If he aspires to be seen as a legitimate candidate for high office, he urgently needs address the anxieties of the Jewish people, and say sorry to the those he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer stated.

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

In a separate interview, the Chancellor said Farage should “say something” if he wanted to appear as a real leader.

“It says a lot how little he has to say, and the guarded phrasing that both you and I would recognise as being written in a specific manner to say something, but also not to say something,” she remarked.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In formal correspondence prior to the release of the investigation, Farage’s lawyers claimed that “the implication that Mr Farage ever engaged in, supported, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is strongly rejected”.

Farage later appeared to change his position in an appearance, saying: “Did I say things as a youth that you could view as being banter, you could interpret in a today's standards today in some sort of way? Possibly.”

He said that he had “not ever purposely sought to go and upset anybody”. Farage later put out a fresh denial: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been reported when I was 13, nearly 50 years ago.”