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The UK's attorney general, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has called on Nigel Farage to issue an apology to school contemporaries who assert he targeted with racist abuse them during their time at school.

Hermer stated that Farage had "clearly deeply hurt" many people, based on their descriptions of his alleged conduct. He added that the politician's "evolving" explanations had been less than credible.

“In his answers to valid inquiries, not once has Farage genuinely condemned antisemitism,” Hermer stated to a news outlet.

New Allegations Come to Light

A recent investigation last month outlined the statements of over a dozen ex-pupils of Farage from a south London school.

One, Peter Ettedgui, said that a teenage Farage "would approach me and utter: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, occasionally including a long hiss to mimic the sound of the Nazi gas chambers”.

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

“He came over to a pupil with two tall mates and addressed anyone looking ‘unusual’,” the former student said. “That happened to me on three occasions; inquiring where I was from, and motioning, saying: ‘That's how you get back,’ to wherever you answered you were from.”

After the story broke, additional individuals have emerged; around two dozen people have now alleged they were either victims of or observed highly inappropriate conduct by Farage.

The incidents they outlined relate to the period when Farage was aged a teenager.

Denials and Shifting Positions

The political figure has disputed that anything he did was "directly" racist or antisemitic, and has claimed the individuals were not telling the truth.

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

They also reference his reluctance to reprimand a party member, a MP, after she made remarks about the number of ethnic minorities she saw in television commercials. She later expressed regret for the statements.

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

He went on to say: “Claiming that 20 people have somehow misremembered the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply isn’t credible."

Question of Character

“If he aspires to be seen as a serious contender for high office, he has to confront the fears of the Jewish people, and apologise to the those he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer said.

“Bigotry in all its forms is anathema to the values of this country and we cannot allow it to ever become legitimised in public life.”

In a separate interview, the Chancellor said Farage should “speak out” if he wanted to appear as a genuine leader.

“It speaks volumes how little he has to say, and the guarded phrasing that both you and I would understand as being written in a particular way to say something, but also avoid saying certain things,” she said.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In formal correspondence prior to the publication of the investigation, Farage’s legal team claimed that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever engaged in, supported, or led this behaviour is strongly rejected”.

Farage later seemingly shifted his explanation in an discussion, remarking: “Have I said things as a youth that you could see as being playground talk, you could interpret in a today's standards today in a certain manner? Yes.”

He added that he had “not ever purposely sought to go and hurt anybody”. Farage later issued a fresh denial: “I can tell you definitely that I did not say the things that have been printed aged 13, nearly 50 years ago.”