🔗 Share this article Top Law Officer Calls On Reform UK Leader to Apologise Over Alleged Antisemitic and Racist Behaviour. The United Kingdom's attorney general, Richard Hermer, has called on Nigel Farage to issue an apology to school contemporaries who assert he racially abused them during their time at school. Hermer said that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, based on their accounts of his alleged conduct. He added that the leader's "constantly changing" denials had been less than credible. “Throughout his replies to valid inquiries, not once has Farage genuinely condemned antisemitism,” Hermer told a publication. Fresh Claims Come to Light A published report last month documented the testimony of more than a dozen ex-pupils of Farage from Dulwich College. One, a former pupil, described that a teenage Farage "would sidle up to me and growl: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, sometimes adding a long hiss to mimic the sound of the Nazi gas chambers”. Another student of colour claimed 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 flanked by two similarly tall mates and targeted anyone looking ‘unusual’,” the individual said. “That happened to me on three separate times; questioning me where I was from, and pointing away, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to wherever you said you were from.” Following the initial report, others have stepped forward; about 20 people have now stated they were either subject to or observed deeply offensive conduct by Farage. The alleged events they described relate to the period when Farage was aged 13 to 18. Denials and Shifting Positions The political figure has disputed that anything he did was "directly" racist or antisemitic, and has asserted the accusers were misremembering. Observers have noted that Farage has neglected to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism in a wider sense in his responses. They also point to his reluctance to discipline a fellow Reform MP, Sarah Pochin, after she expressed views about the number of black and brown people she saw in television commercials. She later said sorry for the comments. “Nigel Farage’s constantly changing story about his behaviour to his schoolmates [is] not credible, to say the least,” Hermer commented. He added: “Suggesting that two dozen individuals have somehow misremembered the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply isn’t credible." Demand for Accountability “If he aspires to be seen as a credible figure for prime minister, he must acknowledge the concerns of the Jewish community, and say sorry to the those he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer concluded. “Prejudice in all its forms is abhorrent to the values of this country and we must not permit it to ever become legitimised in politics.” In a different discussion, a senior politician said Farage should “make a statement” if he wanted to appear as a genuine leader. “It is very telling how very little he has to say, and the precisely drafted words that both you and I would recognise as being written in a certain style to say something, but also dodge the issue,” she said. Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments In formal correspondence prior to the publication of the report, Farage’s lawyers stated that “the implication that Mr Farage ever engaged in, supported, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is categorically denied”. Farage later seemingly shifted his position in an appearance, remarking: “Have I said things decades ago that you could view as being banter, you could interpret in a today's standards today in a certain manner? Possibly.” He commented that he had “not once intentionally really tried to go and harm anybody”. Farage afterwards released a further comment: “I can tell you definitely that I did not say the things that have been reported aged 13, decades in the past.”