Attorney General Urges Reform UK Leader to Say Sorry Over Claimed Antisemitic and Racist Behaviour.

The UK's attorney general, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has urged the Reform UK leader to apologise to former schoolmates who claim he targeted with racist abuse them during their years in education.

Hermer remarked that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, judging by their descriptions of his past behaviour. He noted that the politician's "evolving" denials had been difficult to believe.

“In his replies to legitimate questions, not once has Farage truly condemned antisemitism,” Hermer informed a news outlet.

Fresh Claims Emerge

A series of inquiries last month detailed the statements of over a dozen ex-pupils of Farage from Dulwich College.

One, a former pupil, said that a 13-year-old Farage "came up to me and say: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, at times making a long hiss to imitate the sound of the Nazi gas chambers”.

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

“He walked up to a pupil with two tall mates and targeted anyone looking ‘different’,” the individual said. “That involved me on three occasions; questioning me where I was from, and pointing away, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to any place you answered you were from.”

Since then, additional individuals have emerged; around two dozen people have now claimed they were either victims of or observed deeply offensive actions by Farage.

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

Changing Stories

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

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

They also reference his reluctance to discipline a party member, a MP, after she made remarks about the number of black and brown people she saw in adverts. She later apologised for the statements.

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

He continued: “Suggesting that a group of people have somehow misremembered the same things about his offensive behaviour simply lacks credibility."

Call for Leadership

“If he wants to be seen as a legitimate candidate for high office, he has to address the anxieties of the Jewish community, and say sorry to the many people he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer stated.

“Prejudice in all its forms is completely opposed to the standards of this country and we cannot allow it to ever become normalised in politics.”

In a different discussion, the Chancellor said Farage should “say something” if he wanted to appear as a real leader.

“It says a lot how very little he has to say, and the very careful language that both you and I would recognise as being crafted in a certain style to say something, but also avoid saying certain things,” she noted.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In formal correspondence prior to the release of the report, Farage’s representatives claimed that “the allegation that Mr Farage ever engaged in, approved of, or led such conduct is strongly rejected”.

Farage later seemingly shifted his position in an discussion, stating: “Did I say things as a youth that you could view as being banter, you could interpret in a modern light today in some way? Perhaps.”

He added that he had “not once intentionally sought to go and upset anybody”. Farage later issued a new statement: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been published as a 13-year-old, decades in the past.”