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The UK's attorney general, Richard Hermer, has urged Nigel Farage to issue an apology to school contemporaries who claim he racially abused them during their time at school.

Hermer remarked that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, judging by their accounts of his alleged conduct. He added that the politician's "evolving" denials had been less than credible.

“In his answers to legitimate questions, not once has Farage genuinely condemned antisemitism,” Hermer informed a publication.

Further Testimonies Surface

A published report last month detailed the statements 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 utter: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘gas them’, at times making a long hiss to imitate the sound of the gas showers”.

Another student of colour claimed that when he was about nine, he was singled out by a 17-year-old Farage.

“He approached a pupil flanked by two equally tall mates and spoke to anyone looking ‘different’,” the former student said. “That happened to me on three separate times; asking me where I was from, and motioning, saying: ‘That’s the way back,’ to any place you said you were from.”

Since then, additional individuals have emerged; around two dozen people have now alleged they were either targets of or observed hurtful past behaviour by Farage.

The behaviour they described span the period when Farage was aged between 13 and 18.

Denials and Shifting Positions

The political figure has disputed that anything he did was "explicitly" racist or antisemitic, and has asserted the former classmates were not telling the truth.

Commentators have noted that Farage has neglected to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism in a wider sense in his statements.

They also point to his reluctance to sanction a party member, a MP, after she complained about the number of ethnic minorities she saw in television commercials. She later apologised for the comments.

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

He added: “Arguing that two dozen individuals have somehow recalled incorrectly the same things about his offensive behaviour simply lacks credibility."

Demand for Accountability

“If he wants 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 numerous individuals he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer stated.

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

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

“It says a lot how very little he has to say, and the guarded phrasing that both you and I would recognise as being written in a particular way to communicate, but also dodge the issue,” she remarked.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In formal correspondence before the release of the investigation, Farage’s lawyers claimed that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever took part in, supported, or led such conduct is categorically denied”.

Farage later seemingly shifted his stance in an discussion, remarking: “Have I said things as a youth that you could see as being banter, you could interpret in a contemporary context today in some way? Possibly.”

He said that he had “never directly sought to go and upset anybody”. Farage later issued a fresh denial: “I can tell you unequivocally that I did not say the things that have been published as a 13-year-old, so long ago.”