🔗 Share this article

The United Kingdom's top law officer, Richard Hermer, has demanded the Reform UK leader to apologise to former schoolmates who allege he targeted with racist abuse them during their time at school.

Hermer stated that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, based on their descriptions of his actions as a youth. He noted that the politician's "constantly changing" explanations had been unconvincing.

“Throughout his replies to valid inquiries, not once has Farage truly condemned antisemitism,” Hermer stated to a news outlet.

New Allegations Come to Light

A series of inquiries last month outlined the accounts 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 growl: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘gas them’, occasionally including a long hiss to mimic the sound of the Nazi gas chambers”.

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

“He walked up to a pupil accompanied by two equally tall mates and targeted anyone looking ‘different’,” the person said. “That happened to me on three separate times; inquiring where I was from, and motioning, saying: ‘That's how you get back,’ to wherever you answered you were from.”

Since then, additional individuals have come forward; around two dozen people have now alleged they were either targets of or witnesses to highly inappropriate actions by Farage.

The incidents they outlined span the period when Farage was aged 13 to 18.

Changing Stories

The Reform leader has denied that anything he did was "directly" racist or antisemitic, and has asserted the former classmates were not telling the truth.

Critics 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 failure to discipline a colleague in his party, Sarah Pochin, after she expressed views about the number of black and brown people she saw in television commercials. She later said sorry for the statements.

“His shifting account about his behaviour to his peers [is] not credible, to say the least,” Hermer stated.

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

Question of Character

“If he wishes to be seen as a legitimate candidate for high office, he has to address the fears of the Jewish people, and say sorry to the those he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer stated.

“Bigotry in all its forms is anathema to the principles of this country and we should not let it to ever become normalised in public life.”

In a other comments, the Chancellor said Farage should “say something” if he wanted to appear as a real leader.

“It is very telling how very little he has to say, and the precisely drafted words that both you and I would recognise as being crafted in a certain style to say something, but also dodge the issue,” she said.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In legal letters prior to the publication of the investigation, Farage’s legal team stated that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever engaged in, approved of, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is completely refuted”.

Farage later seemingly shifted his position in an discussion, saying: “Did I say things decades ago that you could see as being playground talk, you could interpret in a modern light today in some sort of way? Yes.”

He added that he had “never directly sought to go and upset anybody”. Farage subsequently released a new statement: “I can tell you unequivocally that I did not say the things that have been published aged 13, so long ago.”