🔗 Share this article

The UK's top law officer, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has demanded the Reform UK leader to issue an apology to former schoolmates who claim he racially abused them during their school days.

Hermer stated that Farage had "clearly deeply hurt" many people, based on their testimonies of his actions as a youth. He commented that the politician's "evolving" explanations had been less than credible.

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

Further Testimonies Come to Light

A series of inquiries last month outlined the accounts of more than a dozen one-time schoolmates of Farage from a private college.

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

Another student of colour alleged that when he was roughly nine years old, he was similarly targeted by a older Farage.

“He approached a pupil with two similarly tall mates and addressed anyone looking ‘other’,” the person said. “That included me on three separate times; questioning me where I was from, and motioning, saying: ‘That’s the way back,’ to any place you said you were from.”

After the story broke, more people have emerged; around two dozen people have now alleged they were either victims of or observed highly inappropriate past behaviour by Farage.

The behaviour they described cover the period when Farage was aged 13 to 18.

Changing Stories

The Reform leader has disputed that anything he did was "blatantly" racist or antisemitic, and has asserted the individuals were misremembering.

Critics have pointed out that Farage has not managed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism in a wider sense in his denials.

They also cite his reluctance to discipline a colleague in his party, Sarah Pochin, after she made remarks about the number of people of colour she saw in adverts. She later apologised for the comments.

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

He went on to say: “Claiming that two dozen individuals have somehow recalled incorrectly the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply isn’t credible."

Question of Character

“If he wishes to be seen as a legitimate candidate for prime minister, he urgently needs confront the anxieties of the Jewish people, and apologise to the those he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer said.

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

In a different discussion, the Chancellor said Farage should “speak out” if he wanted to appear as a true statesman.

“It speaks volumes how very little he has to say, and the very careful language that both you and I would identify as being written in a specific manner to communicate, but also dodge the issue,” she remarked.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In legal letters prior to the release of the investigation, Farage’s lawyers stated that “the allegation that Mr Farage ever engaged in, supported, or led racist or antisemitic behaviour is categorically denied”.

Farage later altered his explanation in an discussion, saying: “Did I say things decades ago that you could view as being playground talk, you could interpret in a today's standards today in some way? Perhaps.”

He commented that he had “not once intentionally attempted to go and harm anybody”. Farage subsequently put out a new statement: “I can tell you definitely that I did not say the things that have been printed when I was 13, nearly 50 years ago.”