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The UK's top law officer, Richard Hermer, has called on Nigel Farage to issue an apology to former schoolmates who claim he racially abused them during their years in education.

Hermer stated that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, judging by their accounts of his alleged conduct. He added that the politician's "constantly changing" explanations had been less than credible.

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

Fresh Claims Surface

A series of inquiries last month detailed the testimony of several one-time schoolmates of Farage from a south London school.

One, a former pupil, described that a teenage Farage "came up to me and utter: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘gas them’, sometimes adding a long hiss to simulate the sound of the gas showers”.

Another minority ethnic pupil alleged that when he was roughly nine years old, he was singled out by a 17-year-old Farage.

“He walked up to a pupil accompanied by two similarly tall mates and targeted anyone looking ‘different’,” the individual said. “That included me on three occasions; inquiring where I was from, and gesturing, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to wherever you replied you were from.”

Following the initial report, others have come forward; approximately twenty people have now alleged they were either victims of or witnesses to deeply offensive conduct by Farage.

The incidents they described cover the period when Farage was aged 13 to 18.

Changing Stories

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

Observers have noted that Farage has not managed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism outright in his denials.

They also point to his inability to sanction a party member, Sarah Pochin, after she complained about the number of ethnic minorities she saw in adverts. She later said sorry for the statements.

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

He added: “Claiming that two dozen individuals have all forgotten the same things about his nasty behaviour simply is not believable."

Call for Leadership

“If he aspires to be seen as a credible figure for the top job, he has to confront the anxieties of the Jewish community, and apologise to the many people he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer concluded.

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

In a different discussion, the Chancellor said Farage should “speak out” if he wanted to look like a genuine leader.

“It is very telling how little he has to say, and the very careful language that both you and I would recognise as being written in a certain style to communicate, but also not to say something,” she noted.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In legal letters prior to the publication of the investigation, Farage’s representatives stated that “the implication that Mr Farage ever engaged in, condoned, or led such conduct is categorically denied”.

Farage later seemingly shifted his position in an discussion, saying: “Have I said things 50 years ago that you could see as being playground talk, you could interpret in a contemporary context today in a certain manner? Yes.”

He commented that he had “not once intentionally sought to go and harm anybody”. Farage afterwards issued a fresh denial: “I can tell you definitely that I did not say the things that have been reported as a 13-year-old, decades in the past.”