Top Law Officer Urges Reform UK Leader to Apologise Over Claimed Antisemitic and Racist Behaviour.

The United Kingdom's attorney general, Richard Hermer, has urged Nigel Farage to issue an apology to school contemporaries who allege he racially abused them during their time at school.

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

“Throughout his answers to legitimate questions, not once has Farage actually condemned antisemitism,” Hermer told a news outlet.

Further Testimonies Come to Light

A series of inquiries last month detailed the accounts of more than a dozen former classmates of Farage from Dulwich College.

One, a former pupil, said that a 13-year-old Farage "would approach me and growl: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, occasionally including a long hiss to simulate the sound of the Nazi gas chambers”.

Another minority ethnic pupil alleged that when he was about nine, he was subjected to similar treatment by a 17-year-old Farage.

“He came over to a pupil accompanied by two similarly tall mates and spoke to anyone looking ‘different’,” the individual said. “That included me on three occasions; inquiring where I was from, and gesturing, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to wherever you replied you were from.”

Since then, others have emerged; approximately twenty people have now alleged they were either subject to or observed deeply offensive actions by Farage.

The alleged events they recounted cover the period when Farage was aged between 13 and 18.

Changing Stories

The political figure has disputed that anything he did was "blatantly" racist or antisemitic, and has claimed the accusers were not telling the truth.

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

They also reference his reluctance to reprimand a party member, a MP, after she made remarks about the number of black and brown people she saw in adverts. She later said sorry for the statements.

“Nigel Farage’s shifting account about his behaviour to his Jewish classmates [is] not credible, to say the least,” Hermer stated.

He went on to say: “Claiming that 20 people have somehow forgotten the same things about his offensive behaviour simply isn’t credible."

Call for Leadership

“If he wants to be seen as a serious contender for high office, he urgently needs acknowledge the fears of the Jewish people, and apologise to the those he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer concluded.

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

In a other comments, a senior politician said Farage should “make a statement” if he wanted to appear as a true statesman.

“It speaks volumes how little he has to say, and the guarded phrasing that both you and I would understand as being crafted in a particular way to say something, but also not to say something,” she noted.

Legal Letters and Later Statements

In lawyers' communications prior to the publication of the investigation, Farage’s legal team asserted that “the implication that Mr Farage ever took part in, approved of, or led this behaviour is categorically denied”.

Farage later seemingly shifted his explanation in an discussion, saying: “Have I said things decades ago that you could interpret as being banter, you could interpret in a today's standards today in some way? Yes.”

He added that he had “never directly attempted to go and harm anybody”. Farage subsequently issued a further comment: “I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been published as a 13-year-old, nearly 50 years ago.”

Katherine Wright
Katherine Wright

A tech enthusiast and writer with a passion for exploring emerging technologies and their impact on society.