Top Law Officer Demands Reform UK Leader to Apologise Over Reported Racism and Antisemitism.

The UK's attorney general, Richard Hermer, has demanded the Reform UK leader to issue an apology to school contemporaries who claim he racially abused them during their school days.

Hermer stated that Farage had "clearly deeply hurt" many people, based on their testimonies of his past behaviour. He added that the politician's "evolving" denials had been unconvincing.

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

Further Testimonies Surface

A series of inquiries last month outlined the accounts of several one-time schoolmates of Farage from Dulwich College.

One, Peter Ettedgui, said that a 13-year-old Farage "would sidle up to me and say: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, occasionally including a long hiss to imitate the sound of the Nazi gas chambers”.

Another student of colour alleged that when he was roughly nine years old, he was similarly targeted by a older Farage.

“He came over to a pupil with two equally tall mates and addressed anyone looking ‘unusual’,” the individual said. “That involved me on three separate times; asking me where I was from, and pointing away, saying: ‘That’s the way back,’ to any place you said you were from.”

Following the initial report, additional individuals have come forward; around two dozen people have now stated they were either victims of or observed highly inappropriate actions by Farage.

The behaviour they described cover the period when Farage was aged a teenager.

Changing Stories

The political figure has rejected that anything he did was "explicitly" racist or antisemitic, and has suggested the former classmates were being untruthful.

Critics have pointed out that Farage has not managed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism outright in his statements.

They also reference his inability to discipline a party member, a MP, after she expressed views about the number of people of colour she saw in television commercials. She later apologised for the statements.

“His constantly changing story about his behaviour to his schoolmates [is] not credible, to say the least,” Hermer said.

He went on to say: “Claiming that a group of people have somehow misremembered the same things about his nasty behaviour simply is not believable."

Question of Character

“If he wants to be seen as a serious contender for prime minister, he has to confront the anxieties of the Jewish community, and say sorry to the many people he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer said.

“Prejudice in all its forms is completely opposed to the standards of this country and we must not permit it to ever become legitimised in society.”

In a different discussion, Rachel Reeves said Farage should “speak out” if he wanted to be considered a real leader.

“It speaks volumes how little he has to say, and the guarded phrasing that both you and I would identify as being written in a specific manner to communicate, but also not to say something,” she said.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In formal correspondence before the release of the investigation, Farage’s lawyers stated that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever engaged in, supported, or led such conduct is strongly rejected”.

Farage later altered his explanation in an interview, saying: “Did I say things as a youth that you could view as being playground talk, you could interpret in a today's standards today in a certain manner? Possibly.”

He commented that he had “not ever purposely really tried to go and upset anybody”. Farage later put out a new statement: “I can tell you unequivocally that I did not say the things that have been published when I was 13, nearly 50 years ago.”