🔗 Share this article Attorney General Calls On Reform UK Leader to Apologise Over Reported Racism and Antisemitism. The United Kingdom's attorney general, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has demanded the Reform UK leader to apologise to former schoolmates who allege he racially abused them during their time at school. Hermer stated that Farage had "undoubtedly deeply hurt" many people, based on their accounts of his actions as a youth. He noted that the politician's "evolving" statements had been less than credible. “During his defensive responses to valid inquiries, not once has Farage genuinely condemned antisemitism,” Hermer stated to a publication. Fresh Claims Surface A published report last month outlined the accounts of over a dozen ex-pupils of Farage from Dulwich College. One, a former pupil, recalled that a teenage Farage "would approach me and utter: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, sometimes adding a long hiss to simulate the sound of the gas showers”. Another student of colour alleged that when he was about nine, he was singled out by a 17-year-old Farage. “He came over to a pupil flanked by two equally tall mates and targeted anyone looking ‘different’,” the person said. “That involved me on three separate times; asking me where I was from, and motioning, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to any place you said you were from.” Following the initial report, additional individuals have stepped forward; about 20 people have now claimed they were either subject to or observed deeply offensive actions by Farage. The behaviour they outlined cover the period when Farage was aged between 13 and 18. Evolving Explanations The Reform leader has disputed that anything he did was "explicitly" racist or antisemitic, and has claimed the accusers were being untruthful. Critics have noted that Farage has neglected to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism outright in his statements. They also cite his reluctance to reprimand a colleague in his party, Sarah Pochin, after she complained about the number of ethnic minorities she saw in television commercials. She later apologised for the comments. “Nigel Farage’s evolving narrative about his behaviour to his peers [is] hard to believe, to say the least,” Hermer stated. He added: “Arguing that a group of people have all forgotten the same things about his nasty behaviour simply isn’t credible." Question of Character “If he wants to be seen as a credible figure for high office, he has to address the anxieties of the Jewish community, and say sorry to the many people he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer stated. “Prejudice in all its forms is anathema to the principles of this country and we must not permit it to ever become normalised in society.” In a other comments, Rachel Reeves said Farage should “speak out” if he wanted to appear as a real leader. “It is very telling how little he has to say, and the guarded phrasing that both you and I would recognise as being written in a particular way to say something, but also avoid saying certain things,” she remarked. Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments In legal letters before the publication of the report, Farage’s representatives asserted that “the suggestion that Mr Farage ever took part in, approved of, or led this behaviour is categorically denied”. Farage later seemingly shifted his stance in an discussion, stating: “Did I say things 50 years ago that you could interpret as being playground talk, you could interpret in a contemporary context today in some sort of way? Possibly.” He commented that he had “never directly sought to go and upset anybody”. Farage afterwards released a further comment: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been published as a 13-year-old, so long ago.”