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The UK's attorney general, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has demanded Nigel Farage to apologise to school contemporaries who assert he targeted with racist abuse them during their school days.

Hermer stated that Farage had "clearly deeply hurt" many people, judging by their testimonies of his alleged conduct. He commented that the leader's "evolving" statements had been less than credible.

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

Fresh Claims Surface

A published report last month detailed the testimony of over a dozen former classmates of Farage from a south London school.

One, Peter Ettedgui, recalled that a teenage Farage "came 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 Nazi gas chambers”.

Another minority ethnic pupil stated that when he was about nine, he was subjected to similar treatment by a 17-year-old Farage.

“He came over to a pupil flanked by two tall mates and addressed anyone looking ‘other’,” the person said. “That included me on three occasions; asking me where I was from, and pointing away, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to any place you said you were from.”

After the story broke, others have come forward; approximately twenty people have now stated they were either targets of or saw highly inappropriate actions by Farage.

The alleged events they described cover the period when Farage was aged a teenager.

Changing Stories

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

Commentators have highlighted that Farage has neglected to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism more broadly in his denials.

They also reference his reluctance to sanction a party member, Sarah Pochin, after she expressed views about the number of ethnic minorities she saw in television commercials. She later expressed regret for the remarks.

“Nigel Farage’s constantly changing story about his behaviour to his peers [is] hard to believe, to say the least,” Hermer stated.

He continued: “Claiming that two dozen individuals have all misremembered the same things about his nasty behaviour simply lacks credibility."

Demand for Accountability

“If he wishes 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 obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer said.

“Bigotry in all its forms is completely opposed to the standards of this country and we should not let it to ever become legitimised in public life.”

In a different discussion, a senior politician said Farage should “say something” if he wanted to be considered a true statesman.

“It speaks volumes how little he has to say, and the precisely drafted words that both you and I would understand as being crafted in a certain style to communicate, but also avoid saying certain things,” she remarked.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In formal correspondence prior to the release of the report, Farage’s lawyers asserted that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever engaged in, approved of, or led this behaviour is categorically denied”.

Farage later appeared to change his position in an discussion, remarking: “Have I said things decades ago that you could see as being playground talk, you could interpret in a today's standards today in some way? Possibly.”

He commented that he had “not once intentionally sought to go and hurt anybody”. Farage subsequently released a new statement: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been printed when I was 13, decades in the past.”