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

The United Kingdom's attorney general, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has demanded the Reform UK leader to apologise to former schoolmates who claim he targeted with racist abuse them during their time at school.

Hermer said that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, judging by their accounts of his alleged conduct. He commented that the leader's "constantly changing" denials had been less than credible.

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

Fresh Claims Surface

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

One, Peter Ettedgui, recalled that a 13-year-old Farage "would sidle up to me and growl: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, sometimes adding a long hiss to mimic the sound of the Nazi gas chambers”.

Another minority ethnic pupil stated that when he was about nine, he was similarly targeted by a older Farage.

“He walked up to a pupil with two tall mates and addressed anyone looking ‘other’,” the individual said. “That involved me on three occasions; asking me where I was from, and gesturing, saying: ‘That's how you get back,’ to any place you answered you were from.”

Since then, additional individuals have come forward; approximately twenty people have now claimed they were either victims of or saw deeply offensive actions by Farage.

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

Changing Stories

The Reform leader has disputed that anything he did was "explicitly" racist or antisemitic, and has asserted the accusers were misremembering.

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

They also point to his reluctance to discipline a colleague in his party, Sarah Pochin, after she complained about the number of black and brown people she saw in television commercials. She later said sorry for the comments.

“Nigel Farage’s evolving narrative about his behaviour to his Jewish classmates [is] not credible, to say the least,” Hermer stated.

He went on to say: “Claiming that two dozen individuals have somehow forgotten the same things about his nasty behaviour simply is not believable."

Call for Leadership

“If he wishes to be seen as a serious contender for high office, he has to address the concerns of the Jewish people, and apologise to the many people he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer concluded.

“Racism in all its forms is completely opposed to the standards of this country and we should not let it to ever become normalised in politics.”

In a separate interview, a senior politician said Farage should “speak out” if he wanted to be considered a real leader.

“It is very telling how little he has to say, and the guarded phrasing that both you and I would understand as being drafted in a particular way to communicate, but also dodge the issue,” she noted.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In lawyers' communications before the release of the report, Farage’s lawyers stated that “the allegation that Mr Farage ever was involved in, condoned, or led such conduct is categorically denied”.

Farage later altered his stance in an interview, saying: “Did I say things decades ago that you could view as being banter, you could interpret in a contemporary context today in some way? Yes.”

He added that he had “not ever purposely really tried to go and hurt anybody”. Farage later released a further comment: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been printed as a 13-year-old, nearly 50 years ago.”