🔗 Share this article

The United Kingdom's top law officer, Richard Hermer, has demanded the Reform UK leader to apologise to school contemporaries who assert he racially abused them during their school days.

Hermer said that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, based on their descriptions of his actions as a youth. He added that the politician's "shifting" statements had been difficult to believe.

“During his defensive responses to legitimate questions, not once has Farage truly condemned antisemitism,” Hermer told a publication.

Further Testimonies Emerge

A published report last month detailed the testimony of over a dozen former classmates of Farage from a south London school.

One, a former pupil, recalled that a 13-year-old Farage "would sidle up to me and say: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ 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 roughly nine years old, he was similarly targeted by a 17-year-old Farage.

“He came over to a pupil accompanied by two tall mates and addressed anyone looking ‘different’,” the person said. “That included me on three separate times; inquiring where I was from, and pointing away, saying: ‘That's how you get back,’ to any place you replied you were from.”

After the story broke, additional individuals have emerged; around two dozen people have now alleged they were either victims of or observed hurtful actions by Farage.

The alleged events they recounted cover the period when Farage was aged 13 to 18.

Evolving Explanations

The political figure has rejected that anything he did was "blatantly" racist or antisemitic, and has suggested the accusers were misremembering.

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

They also reference his inability to discipline a colleague in his party, a MP, after she made remarks about the number of ethnic minorities she saw in adverts. She later expressed regret for the remarks.

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

He added: “Claiming that two dozen individuals have somehow forgotten the same things about his offensive behaviour simply is not believable."

Question of Character

“If he aspires to be seen as a credible figure for high office, he urgently needs confront the concerns of the Jewish community, and apologise to the numerous individuals he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer concluded.

“Prejudice in all its forms is completely opposed to the principles of this country and we should not let it to ever become legitimised in politics.”

In a other comments, Rachel Reeves said Farage should “make a statement” if he wanted to appear as a genuine leader.

“It speaks volumes how little he has to say, and the precisely drafted words that both you and I would recognise as being written in a specific manner to say something, but also avoid saying certain things,” she said.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In formal correspondence before the publication of the investigation, Farage’s legal team asserted that “the implication that Mr Farage ever engaged in, condoned, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is strongly rejected”.

Farage later seemingly shifted his explanation in an appearance, stating: “Have I said things as a youth that you could see as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a contemporary context today in a certain manner? Yes.”

He added that he had “never directly really tried to go and hurt anybody”. Farage afterwards issued a fresh denial: “I can tell you definitely that I did not say the things that have been published as a 13-year-old, so long ago.”