🔗 Share this article

The United Kingdom's attorney general, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has demanded Nigel Farage to issue an apology to school contemporaries who allege he racially abused them during their time at school.

Hermer remarked that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, based on their descriptions of his past behaviour. He added that the leader's "constantly changing" denials had been difficult to believe.

“Throughout his replies to valid inquiries, not once has Farage truly condemned antisemitism,” Hermer informed a publication.

Fresh Claims Surface

A recent investigation last month documented the testimony of more than a dozen ex-pupils of Farage from a private college.

One, a former pupil, said that a teenage Farage "came up to me and say: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘gas them’, sometimes adding a long hiss to mimic the sound of the gas showers”.

Another student of colour alleged that when he was roughly nine years old, he was subjected to similar treatment by a 17-year-old Farage.

“He approached a pupil flanked by two similarly tall mates and targeted anyone looking ‘different’,” the individual said. “That happened to me on three occasions; asking me where I was from, and pointing away, saying: ‘That’s the way back,’ to any place you answered you were from.”

Since then, others have stepped forward; approximately twenty people have now alleged they were either targets of or saw hurtful past behaviour by Farage.

The alleged events they outlined span the period when Farage was aged between 13 and 18.

Changing Stories

The political figure has disputed that anything he did was "blatantly" racist or antisemitic, and has suggested the individuals were being untruthful.

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

They also point to his reluctance to reprimand a fellow Reform MP, Sarah Pochin, after she made remarks about the number of ethnic minorities she saw in television commercials. She later said sorry for the comments.

“His shifting account about his behaviour to his schoolmates [is] hard to believe, to say the least,” Hermer said.

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

Call for Leadership

“If he aspires to be seen as a serious contender for the top job, he must acknowledge the anxieties of the Jewish community, and say sorry to the numerous individuals he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer said.

“Prejudice in all its forms is anathema to the standards of this country and we must not permit it to ever become accepted in public life.”

In a separate interview, a senior politician said Farage should “make a statement” if he wanted to appear as a genuine leader.

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

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In legal letters prior to the release of the report, Farage’s lawyers asserted that “the implication that Mr Farage ever was involved in, approved of, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is categorically denied”.

Farage later seemingly shifted his explanation in an discussion, stating: “Did I say things 50 years ago that you could interpret as being banter, you could interpret in a modern light today in some sort of way? Perhaps.”

He added that he had “never directly attempted to go and hurt anybody”. Farage afterwards issued a further comment: “I can tell you unequivocally that I did not say the things that have been reported when I was 13, decades in the past.”