🔗 Share this article

The United Kingdom's attorney general, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has called on the Reform UK leader to apologise to former schoolmates who claim he targeted with racist abuse them during their years in education.

Hermer remarked that Farage had "clearly deeply hurt" many people, according to their testimonies of his alleged conduct. He commented that the leader's "constantly changing" explanations had been difficult to believe.

“Throughout his defensive responses to valid inquiries, not once has Farage actually condemned antisemitism,” Hermer informed a news outlet.

Fresh Claims Emerge

A published report last month documented the testimony of several former classmates of Farage from a south London school.

One, Peter Ettedgui, described that a teenage Farage "would approach me and growl: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘gas them’, sometimes adding a long hiss to imitate the sound of the gas showers”.

Another student of colour claimed that when he was about nine, he was singled out by a older Farage.

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

Following the initial report, others have come forward; approximately twenty people have now alleged they were either victims of or saw hurtful actions by Farage.

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

Denials and Shifting Positions

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

Commentators have pointed out that Farage has failed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism more broadly in his denials.

They also cite his reluctance to discipline a colleague in his party, Sarah Pochin, after she complained about the number of people of colour she saw in television commercials. She later apologised for the statements.

“His constantly changing story about his behaviour to his peers [is] not credible, to say the least,” Hermer commented.

He added: “Arguing that a group of people have somehow misremembered the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply lacks credibility."

Call for Leadership

“If he aspires to be seen as a credible figure for the top job, he must confront the concerns of the Jewish people, and apologise to the those he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer stated.

“Bigotry in all its forms is completely opposed to the standards of this country and we must not permit it to ever become legitimised in society.”

In a other comments, the Chancellor said Farage should “speak out” if he wanted to look like a genuine leader.

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

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In lawyers' communications prior to the publication of the report, Farage’s representatives claimed that “the allegation that Mr Farage ever was involved in, supported, or led this behaviour is categorically denied”.

Farage later altered his stance in an interview, remarking: “Did I say things decades ago that you could interpret as being banter, you could interpret in a modern light today in a certain manner? Perhaps.”

He commented that he had “never directly sought to go and hurt anybody”. Farage later issued a new statement: “I can tell you unequivocally that I did not say the things that have been published as a 13-year-old, nearly 50 years ago.”