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The UK's top law officer, Richard Hermer, has demanded Nigel Farage to apologise to school contemporaries who assert he racially abused them during their time at school.

Hermer stated that Farage had "clearly deeply hurt" many people, according to their descriptions of his past behaviour. He added that the leader's "evolving" denials had been unconvincing.

“Throughout his replies to valid inquiries, not once has Farage truly condemned antisemitism,” Hermer informed a publication.

Fresh Claims Surface

A series of inquiries last month outlined the testimony of over a dozen ex-pupils of Farage from a south London school.

One, a former pupil, described that a 13-year-old Farage "would approach me and growl: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘gas them’, at times making a long hiss to simulate the sound of the Nazi gas chambers”.

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

“He approached a pupil accompanied by two equally tall mates and spoke to anyone looking ‘different’,” the former student said. “That happened to me on three separate times; inquiring where I was from, and pointing away, saying: ‘That's how you get back,’ to wherever you answered you were from.”

Since then, additional individuals have stepped forward; about 20 people have now alleged they were either victims of or saw hurtful actions by Farage.

The alleged events they recounted relate to the period when Farage was aged a teenager.

Evolving Explanations

The political figure has disputed that anything he did was "directly" racist or antisemitic, and has claimed the individuals were misremembering.

Commentators have pointed out that Farage has not managed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism in a wider sense in his denials.

They also point to his reluctance to reprimand a party member, Sarah Pochin, after she complained about the number of black and brown people she saw in adverts. She later expressed regret for the comments.

“Nigel Farage’s shifting account about his behaviour to his Jewish classmates [is] not credible, to say the least,” Hermer commented.

He added: “Arguing that a group of people have all recalled incorrectly the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply is not believable."

Call for Leadership

“If he wants to be seen as a legitimate candidate for high office, he has to confront the concerns of the Jewish people, and say sorry to the many people he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer said.

“Racism in all its forms is abhorrent to the values of this country and we must not permit it to ever become normalised in society.”

In a other comments, a senior politician said Farage should “say something” if he wanted to look like a true statesman.

“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 not to say something,” she remarked.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In formal correspondence before the publication of the report, Farage’s lawyers claimed that “the implication that Mr Farage ever was involved in, approved of, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is strongly rejected”.

Farage later appeared to change his stance in an discussion, saying: “Did I say things as a youth that you could interpret as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a today's standards today in some way? Perhaps.”

He commented that he had “not ever purposely sought to go and upset anybody”. Farage afterwards issued 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.”