🔗 Share this article

The UK's attorney general, Richard Hermer, has urged Nigel Farage to issue an apology to former schoolmates who assert he targeted with racist abuse them during their time at school.

Hermer stated that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, judging by their accounts of his alleged conduct. He noted that the leader's "constantly changing" denials had been less than credible.

“In his replies to legitimate questions, not once has Farage truly condemned antisemitism,” Hermer told a publication.

Further Testimonies Surface

A published report last month outlined the statements of more than a dozen ex-pupils of Farage from a south London school.

One, Peter Ettedgui, described that a 13-year-old Farage "came up to me and utter: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘gas them’, sometimes adding a long hiss to imitate the sound of the Nazi gas chambers”.

Another pupil from an ethnic minority claimed that when he was roughly nine years old, he was singled out by a older Farage.

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

After the story broke, additional individuals have emerged; approximately twenty people have now stated they were either subject to or saw highly inappropriate conduct by Farage.

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

Changing Stories

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

Observers have pointed out that Farage has not managed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism more broadly in his denials.

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

“Nigel Farage’s shifting account about his behaviour to his peers [is] unconvincing, to say the least,” Hermer said.

He added: “Claiming that two dozen individuals have somehow forgotten the same things about his offensive behaviour simply lacks credibility."

Call for Leadership

“If he wishes to be seen as a credible figure for the top job, he urgently needs address the anxieties of the Jewish community, and apologise to the numerous individuals he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer concluded.

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

In a separate interview, a senior politician said Farage should “make a statement” if he wanted to look like a real leader.

“It speaks volumes how little he has to say, and the very careful language that both you and I would understand as being written in a specific manner to say something, but also avoid saying certain things,” she remarked.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In legal letters before the publication of the investigation, Farage’s representatives stated that “the allegation that Mr Farage ever was involved in, condoned, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is strongly rejected”.

Farage later altered his stance in an discussion, saying: “Have I said things decades ago that you could see as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a today's standards today in some sort of way? Perhaps.”

He said that he had “never directly really tried to go and upset anybody”. Farage subsequently released a new statement: “I can tell you definitely that I did not say the things that have been reported when I was 13, nearly 50 years ago.”