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The UK's attorney general, Richard Hermer, has demanded Nigel Farage to issue an apology to school contemporaries who assert he targeted with racist abuse them during their years in education.

Hermer said that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, based on their accounts of his actions as a youth. He added that the leader's "constantly changing" statements had been less than credible.

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

Fresh Claims Come to Light

A published report last month detailed the statements of several one-time schoolmates of Farage from a private college.

One, a former pupil, described that a 13-year-old Farage "came up to me and say: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, at times making a long hiss to mimic the sound of the Nazi gas chambers”.

Another pupil from an ethnic minority alleged that when he was about nine, he was singled out by a 17-year-old Farage.

“He walked up to a pupil with two similarly tall mates and addressed anyone looking ‘unusual’,” the person said. “That happened to me on three separate times; questioning me where I was from, and motioning, saying: ‘That's how you get back,’ to wherever you answered you were from.”

Following the initial report, more people have come forward; around two dozen people have now stated they were either targets of or saw hurtful actions by Farage.

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

Evolving Explanations

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

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

They also cite his reluctance to discipline a fellow Reform MP, Sarah Pochin, after she made remarks about the number of people of colour she saw in adverts. She later expressed regret for the statements.

“His constantly changing story about his behaviour to his peers [is] hard to believe, to say the least,” Hermer stated.

He went on to say: “Suggesting that 20 people have somehow recalled incorrectly 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 the top job, he has to confront the fears of the Jewish people, and apologise to the many people he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer stated.

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

In a separate interview, a senior politician said Farage should “speak out” if he wanted to appear as a genuine leader.

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

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In lawyers' communications before the publication of the investigation, Farage’s lawyers claimed that “the allegation that Mr Farage ever engaged in, approved of, or led this behaviour is categorically denied”.

Farage later appeared to change his position in an interview, stating: “Did I say things 50 years ago that you could view as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a modern light today in some sort of way? Possibly.”

He added that he had “not once intentionally sought to go and upset anybody”. Farage later released a new statement: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been published aged 13, decades in the past.”