Attorney General Calls On Nigel Farage to Say Sorry Over Alleged Antisemitic and Racist Behaviour.

The UK's attorney general, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has called on the Reform UK leader to apologise to former schoolmates who claim he racially abused them during their school days.

Hermer stated that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, judging by their testimonies of his alleged conduct. He added that the politician's "shifting" explanations had been less than credible.

“During his answers to valid inquiries, not once has Farage actually condemned antisemitism,” Hermer informed a news outlet.

Fresh Claims Surface

A series of inquiries last month documented the testimony of several ex-pupils of Farage from a south London school.

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

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

“He came over to a pupil flanked by two similarly tall mates and addressed anyone looking ‘other’,” the person said. “That involved me on three occasions; asking me where I was from, and gesturing, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to any place you replied you were from.”

After the story broke, additional individuals have emerged; around two dozen people have now stated they were either targets of or witnesses to hurtful past behaviour by Farage.

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

Denials and Shifting Positions

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

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

They also point to his inability to sanction a party member, Sarah Pochin, after she complained about the number of black and brown people she saw in television commercials. She later apologised for the statements.

“His shifting account about his behaviour to his Jewish classmates [is] hard to believe, to say the least,” Hermer said.

He added: “Suggesting that 20 people have somehow recalled incorrectly the same things about his nasty behaviour simply isn’t credible."

Call for Leadership

“If he wishes to be seen as a serious contender for high office, he urgently needs acknowledge the anxieties of the Jewish community, and apologise to the those he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer stated.

“Prejudice in all its forms is anathema to the principles of this country and we cannot allow it to ever become accepted in politics.”

In a different discussion, Rachel Reeves said Farage should “make a statement” if he wanted to be considered a true statesman.

“It is very telling how very little he has to say, and the very careful language that both you and I would understand as being drafted in a particular way to say something, but also avoid saying certain things,” she said.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In formal correspondence before the release of the report, Farage’s lawyers stated that “the implication that Mr Farage ever took part in, condoned, or led such conduct is strongly rejected”.

Farage later altered his stance in an appearance, stating: “Did I say things as a youth that you could interpret as being playground talk, you could interpret in a today's standards today in some way? Perhaps.”

He added that he had “not ever purposely sought to go and harm anybody”. Farage later released a fresh denial: “I can tell you definitely that I did not say the things that have been published when I was 13, decades in the past.”