Attorney General Urges Reform UK Leader to Apologise Over Alleged Antisemitic and Racist Behaviour.

The UK's attorney general, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has urged the Reform UK leader to issue an apology to school contemporaries who allege he targeted with racist abuse them during their time at school.

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

“During his answers to legitimate questions, not once has Farage truly condemned antisemitism,” Hermer informed a publication.

New Allegations Come to Light

A published report last month detailed the accounts of over a dozen one-time schoolmates of Farage from a south London school.

One, Peter Ettedgui, recalled that a teenage Farage "would sidle up to me and say: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘gas them’, sometimes adding a long hiss to mimic the sound of the gas showers”.

Another student of colour alleged that when he was about nine, he was similarly targeted by a 17-year-old Farage.

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

After the story broke, additional individuals have stepped forward; around two dozen people have now claimed they were either victims of or witnesses to highly inappropriate conduct by Farage.

The behaviour they outlined span the period when Farage was aged between 13 and 18.

Evolving Explanations

The political figure has denied that anything he did was "blatantly" racist or antisemitic, and has asserted the accusers were being untruthful.

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

They also point to his failure to sanction a party member, Sarah Pochin, after she made remarks about the number of people of colour she saw in adverts. She later expressed regret for the remarks.

“Nigel Farage’s constantly changing story about his behaviour to his schoolmates [is] unconvincing, to say the least,” Hermer commented.

He went on to say: “Claiming that 20 people have somehow misremembered the same things about his nasty behaviour simply is not believable."

Call for Leadership

“If he wants to be seen as a credible figure for high office, he must confront the fears of the Jewish people, and apologise to the numerous individuals he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer concluded.

“Racism in all its forms is abhorrent to the standards of this country and we should not let it to ever become legitimised in society.”

In a other comments, Rachel Reeves said Farage should “say something” if he wanted to be considered a genuine leader.

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

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In formal correspondence before the release of the report, Farage’s legal team stated that “the implication that Mr Farage ever was involved in, approved of, or led such conduct is strongly rejected”.

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

He added that he had “never directly sought to go and hurt anybody”. Farage subsequently released a new statement: “I can tell you unequivocally that I did not say the things that have been reported aged 13, decades in the past.”