Attorney General Urges Nigel Farage to Say Sorry Over Reported Antisemitic and Racist Behaviour.

The United Kingdom's top law officer, Richard Hermer, has urged the Reform UK leader to apologise to former schoolmates who claim he racially abused them during their years in education.

Hermer said that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, based on their accounts of his past behaviour. He added that the leader's "shifting" explanations had been difficult to believe.

“Throughout his defensive responses to legitimate questions, not once has Farage genuinely condemned antisemitism,” Hermer informed a publication.

Further Testimonies Come to Light

A published report last month documented the accounts of over a dozen one-time schoolmates of Farage from a private college.

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

Another student of colour alleged that when he was roughly nine years old, he was subjected to similar treatment by a 17-year-old Farage.

“He walked up to a pupil with two tall mates and targeted anyone looking ‘other’,” the former student said. “That involved me on three separate times; asking me where I was from, and gesturing, saying: ‘That's how you get back,’ to wherever you said you were from.”

Since then, others have stepped forward; about 20 people have now alleged they were either subject to or witnesses to deeply offensive actions by Farage.

The alleged events they outlined relate to the period when Farage was aged a teenager.

Denials and Shifting Positions

The political figure has disputed that anything he did was "directly" racist or antisemitic, and has suggested the former classmates were misremembering.

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

They also cite his inability to reprimand a colleague in his party, a MP, after she expressed views about the number of ethnic minorities she saw in adverts. She later expressed regret for the comments.

“His evolving narrative about his behaviour to his peers [is] unconvincing, to say the least,” Hermer stated.

He went on to say: “Arguing that a group of people have all misremembered the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply lacks credibility."

Question of Character

“If he aspires to be seen as a legitimate candidate for the top job, he must acknowledge the fears of the Jewish community, and apologise to the numerous individuals he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer concluded.

“Prejudice in all its forms is completely opposed to the standards of this country and we cannot allow 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 real leader.

“It says a lot how very little he has to say, and the very careful language that both you and I would understand as being crafted in a certain style to communicate, but also avoid saying certain things,” she said.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

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

Farage later seemingly shifted his position in an discussion, remarking: “Have I said things decades ago that you could interpret as being playground talk, you could interpret in a modern light today in some way? Perhaps.”

He commented that he had “not ever purposely really tried to go and upset anybody”. Farage afterwards released a fresh denial: “I can tell you unequivocally that I did not say the things that have been published as a 13-year-old, so long ago.”