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The UK's top law officer, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has demanded Nigel Farage to issue an apology to school contemporaries who claim he racially abused them during their school days.

Hermer stated that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, based on their accounts of his past behaviour. He added that the politician's "shifting" explanations had been unconvincing.

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

Further Testimonies Come to Light

A series of inquiries last month documented the testimony of more than a dozen one-time schoolmates of Farage from a private college.

One, a former pupil, said that a 13-year-old Farage "came up to me and say: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘gas them’, occasionally including 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 singled out by a older Farage.

“He approached a pupil flanked by two equally tall mates and targeted anyone looking ‘unusual’,” the individual said. “That included me on three occasions; inquiring where I was from, and gesturing, saying: ‘That’s the way back,’ to any place you said you were from.”

Following the initial report, others have stepped forward; around two dozen people have now claimed they were either targets of or observed highly inappropriate past behaviour by Farage.

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

Denials and Shifting Positions

The political figure has denied that anything he did was "directly" racist or antisemitic, and has claimed the individuals were misremembering.

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

They also point to his inability to sanction a party member, Sarah Pochin, after she made remarks about the number of black and brown people she saw in adverts. She later apologised for the comments.

“Nigel Farage’s shifting account about his behaviour to his schoolmates [is] not credible, to say the least,” Hermer stated.

He added: “Claiming that a group of people have somehow recalled incorrectly the same things about his offensive behaviour simply is not believable."

Question of Character

“If he aspires to be seen as a legitimate candidate for prime minister, he has to confront the concerns of the Jewish people, and say sorry to the those he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer said.

“Bigotry in all its forms is anathema to the principles of this country and we should not let it to ever become accepted in politics.”

In a different discussion, the Chancellor said Farage should “speak out” if he wanted to be considered a true statesman.

“It says a lot how very little he has to say, and the precisely drafted words that both you and I would understand as being crafted in a particular way to communicate, but also dodge the issue,” she noted.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In legal letters prior to the release of the investigation, Farage’s legal team asserted that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever was involved in, condoned, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is categorically denied”.

Farage later altered his explanation in an discussion, saying: “Have I said things as a youth that you could view as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a contemporary context today in some sort of way? Yes.”

He commented that he had “not once intentionally attempted to go and upset anybody”. Farage afterwards issued a further comment: “I can tell you unequivocally that I did not say the things that have been printed as a 13-year-old, nearly 50 years ago.”