🔗 Share this article

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

Hermer said that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, based on their accounts of his past behaviour. He noted that the politician's "constantly changing" explanations had been difficult to believe.

“During his answers to legitimate questions, not once has Farage truly condemned antisemitism,” Hermer stated to a news outlet.

New Allegations Emerge

A published report last month documented the testimony of several former classmates of Farage from a private college.

One, Peter Ettedgui, said that a 13-year-old Farage "would sidle up to me and growl: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘gas them’, at times making a long hiss to imitate the sound of the gas showers”.

Another pupil from an ethnic minority alleged that when he was about nine, he was singled out by a 17-year-old Farage.

“He approached a pupil with two equally tall mates and targeted anyone looking ‘other’,” the former student said. “That included me on three separate times; asking me where I was from, and motioning, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to any place you replied you were from.”

Since then, others have emerged; around two dozen people have now alleged they were either subject to or observed highly inappropriate past behaviour by Farage.

The alleged events they recounted span the period when Farage was aged a teenager.

Evolving Explanations

The political figure has denied that anything he did was "explicitly" racist or antisemitic, and has asserted the former classmates were misremembering.

Critics have noted that Farage has failed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism more broadly in his statements.

They also cite his failure to discipline a fellow Reform MP, Sarah Pochin, after she complained about the number of ethnic minorities she saw in adverts. She later said sorry for the remarks.

“His constantly changing story about his behaviour to his peers [is] hard to believe, to say the least,” Hermer stated.

He went on to say: “Claiming that 20 people have all forgotten the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply lacks credibility."

Call for Leadership

“If he wants to be seen as a credible figure for high office, he urgently needs acknowledge the anxieties of the Jewish community, and say sorry to the numerous individuals he has obviously deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer stated.

“Bigotry in all its forms is anathema to the values of this country and we cannot allow it to ever become normalised in society.”

In a separate interview, Rachel Reeves said Farage should “say something” if he wanted to be considered a true statesman.

“It says a lot how very little he has to say, and the very careful language that both you and I would identify as being written in a certain style to say something, but also dodge the issue,” she remarked.

Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments

In lawyers' communications before the publication of the report, Farage’s representatives claimed that “the allegation that Mr Farage ever was involved in, supported, or led such conduct is strongly rejected”.

Farage later altered his position in an appearance, remarking: “Have I said things as a youth that you could see as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a modern light today in some sort of way? Perhaps.”

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