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The United Kingdom's top law officer, Richard Hermer, has urged Nigel Farage to issue an apology to former schoolmates who assert he targeted with racist abuse them during their years in education.

Hermer remarked that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, based on their accounts of his actions as a youth. He commented that the politician's "shifting" explanations had been difficult to believe.

“In his defensive responses to valid inquiries, not once has Farage actually condemned antisemitism,” Hermer informed a publication.

New Allegations Emerge

A published report last month detailed the statements of several ex-pupils of Farage from a private college.

One, Peter Ettedgui, said that a teenage Farage "would approach me and growl: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, sometimes adding a long hiss to simulate the sound of the Nazi gas chambers”.

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

“He came over to a pupil with two equally tall mates and targeted anyone looking ‘other’,” the individual said. “That involved me on three separate times; questioning me where I was from, and motioning, saying: ‘That’s the way back,’ to any place you replied you were from.”

Since then, others have emerged; around two dozen people have now claimed they were either victims of or witnesses to highly inappropriate past behaviour by Farage.

The behaviour they described relate to the period when Farage was aged a teenager.

Evolving Explanations

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

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

They also reference his failure to reprimand a colleague in his party, a MP, after she expressed views about the number of people of colour she saw in adverts. She later apologised for the remarks.

“Nigel Farage’s constantly changing story about his behaviour to his schoolmates [is] not credible, to say the least,” Hermer stated.

He added: “Claiming that a group of 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 credible figure for prime minister, he must confront the concerns of the Jewish community, and say sorry to the those he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer said.

“Prejudice in all its forms is completely opposed to the values of this country and we must not permit it to ever become normalised in public life.”

In a different discussion, a senior politician said Farage should “speak out” if he wanted to be considered a genuine leader.

“It speaks volumes how little he has to say, and the very careful language that both you and I would identify as being crafted in a specific manner to communicate, but also not to say something,” she said.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In lawyers' communications prior to the release of the investigation, Farage’s representatives asserted that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever engaged in, approved of, or led such conduct is strongly rejected”.

Farage later appeared to change his stance in an interview, remarking: “Did I say things 50 years ago that you could view as being banter, you could interpret in a modern light today in some sort of way? Perhaps.”

He commented that he had “not once intentionally attempted to go and hurt anybody”. Farage later issued a further comment: “I can tell you definitely that I did not say the things that have been reported as a 13-year-old, so long ago.”