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The United Kingdom's attorney general, Richard Hermer, has demanded the Reform UK leader to issue an apology to school contemporaries who allege he targeted with racist abuse them during their school days.

Hermer said that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, judging by their accounts of his actions as a youth. He added that the leader's "constantly changing" denials had been difficult to believe.

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

Further Testimonies Come to Light

A recent investigation last month documented the statements of more than a dozen former classmates of Farage from Dulwich College.

One, Peter Ettedgui, recalled that a teenage Farage "would sidle up to me and growl: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘gas them’, at times making a long hiss to mimic the sound of the gas showers”.

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

“He walked up to a pupil flanked by two equally tall mates and targeted anyone looking ‘unusual’,” the individual said. “That happened to me on three occasions; asking me where I was from, and pointing away, saying: ‘That’s the way back,’ to any place you answered you were from.”

Following the initial report, others have emerged; around two dozen people have now claimed they were either targets of or saw highly inappropriate past behaviour by Farage.

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

Evolving Explanations

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

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

They also point to his failure to reprimand a party member, a MP, after she complained about the number of black and brown people she saw in television commercials. She later said sorry for the remarks.

“His evolving narrative about his behaviour to his peers [is] hard to believe, to say the least,” Hermer commented.

He added: “Claiming that 20 people have somehow recalled incorrectly the same things about his nasty behaviour simply lacks credibility."

Question of Character

“If he aspires to be seen as a serious contender for the top job, he urgently needs confront the fears of the Jewish community, and apologise to the numerous individuals he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer said.

“Bigotry in all its forms is abhorrent to the values of this country and we should not let it to ever become normalised in politics.”

In a separate interview, 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 understand as being written in a specific manner to say something, but also avoid saying certain things,” she remarked.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In legal letters before the release of the investigation, Farage’s representatives stated that “the implication that Mr Farage ever was involved in, supported, or led such conduct is categorically denied”.

Farage later altered his explanation in an interview, saying: “Did I say things as a youth that you could interpret as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a modern light today in some way? Perhaps.”

He said that he had “not ever purposely sought to go and harm anybody”. Farage later issued a further comment: “I can tell you unequivocally that I did not say the things that have been printed aged 13, decades in the past.”