🔗 Share this article

The United Kingdom's top law officer, Richard Hermer, has urged the Reform UK leader to issue an apology to school contemporaries who assert he targeted with racist abuse them during their time at school.

Hermer stated that Farage had "clearly deeply hurt" many people, based on their descriptions of his past behaviour. He added that the leader's "constantly changing" denials had been unconvincing.

“During his answers to legitimate questions, not once has Farage truly condemned antisemitism,” Hermer informed a publication.

Fresh Claims Come to Light

A recent investigation last month outlined the statements of more than a dozen former classmates of Farage from a south London school.

One, Peter Ettedgui, said that a 13-year-old Farage "would approach me and growl: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, occasionally including a long hiss to mimic 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 walked up to a pupil flanked by two similarly tall mates and targeted anyone looking ‘other’,” the person said. “That happened to me on three occasions; asking me where I was from, and motioning, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to wherever you answered you were from.”

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

The alleged events they outlined cover the period when Farage was aged a teenager.

Changing Stories

The Reform leader has disputed that anything he did was "blatantly" racist or antisemitic, and has claimed the accusers were not telling the truth.

Observers have highlighted that Farage has failed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism outright in his responses.

They also cite his failure to reprimand a colleague in his party, Sarah Pochin, after she complained about the number of people of colour she saw in adverts. She later said sorry for the statements.

“His evolving narrative about his behaviour to his peers [is] unconvincing, to say the least,” Hermer said.

He went on to say: “Suggesting that 20 people have all recalled incorrectly the same things about his nasty behaviour simply is not believable."

Demand for Accountability

“If he aspires to be seen as a serious contender for high office, he urgently needs confront the anxieties of the Jewish community, and apologise to the those he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer concluded.

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

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

“It says a lot how little he has to say, and the very careful language that both you and I would understand as being written in a certain style to say something, but also dodge the issue,” she remarked.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In formal correspondence prior to the release of the report, Farage’s representatives stated that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever took part in, approved of, or led this behaviour is completely refuted”.

Farage later appeared to change his stance in an interview, remarking: “Have I said things as a youth that you could view as being banter, you could interpret in a contemporary context today in some way? Perhaps.”

He commented that he had “not once intentionally sought to go and hurt anybody”. Farage later released a new statement: “I can tell you definitely that I did not say the things that have been published as a 13-year-old, so long ago.”