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

The UK's attorney general, Richard Hermer, has demanded the Reform UK leader to issue an apology to former schoolmates who allege he racially abused them during their school days.

Hermer said that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, judging by their testimonies of his alleged conduct. He noted that the politician's "shifting" statements had been difficult to believe.

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

Further Testimonies Come to Light

A series of inquiries last month detailed the statements of more than a dozen one-time schoolmates of Farage from a private college.

One, a former pupil, recalled that a teenage Farage "would sidle up to me and say: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, at times making a long hiss to mimic the sound of the gas showers”.

Another student of colour claimed that when he was roughly nine years old, he was singled out by a older Farage.

“He came over to a pupil with two equally tall mates and addressed anyone looking ‘different’,” the former student said. “That included me on three occasions; questioning me where I was from, and pointing away, saying: ‘That's how you get back,’ to wherever you answered you were from.”

Following the initial report, additional individuals have stepped forward; around two dozen people have now stated they were either victims of or witnesses to hurtful actions by Farage.

The incidents they recounted relate to the period when Farage was aged between 13 and 18.

Denials and Shifting Positions

The Reform leader has rejected that anything he did was "directly" racist or antisemitic, and has suggested the individuals were being untruthful.

Critics have pointed out that Farage has failed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism outright in his responses.

They also point to his inability to sanction a colleague in his party, Sarah Pochin, after she expressed views about the number of black and brown people she saw in television commercials. She later expressed regret for the statements.

“His shifting account about his behaviour to his peers [is] unconvincing, to say the least,” Hermer stated.

He continued: “Suggesting that a group of people have all forgotten the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply is not believable."

Call for Leadership

“If he wishes to be seen as a credible figure for high office, he must confront the anxieties of the Jewish people, and say sorry to the many people he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer said.

“Bigotry in all its forms is completely opposed to the values of this country and we cannot allow it to ever become accepted in politics.”

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

“It speaks volumes how very little he has to say, and the guarded phrasing that both you and I would understand as being drafted in a specific manner to communicate, but also dodge the issue,” she noted.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In formal correspondence before the publication of the investigation, Farage’s representatives asserted that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever was involved in, condoned, or led this behaviour is completely refuted”.

Farage later altered his stance in an discussion, stating: “Did I say things as a youth that you could see as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a today's standards today in a certain manner? Possibly.”

He added that he had “never directly really tried to go and upset anybody”. Farage afterwards issued a fresh denial: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been reported when I was 13, so long ago.”