Top Law Officer Calls On Reform UK Leader to Say Sorry Over Reported Racism and Antisemitism.
The United Kingdom's attorney general, one of the most senior Jewish ministers, has demanded Nigel Farage to issue an apology to school contemporaries who claim he targeted with racist abuse them during their school days.
Hermer stated that Farage had "obviously deeply hurt" many people, based on their descriptions of his actions as a youth. He noted that the politician's "shifting" denials had been unconvincing.
“In his replies to valid inquiries, not once has Farage actually condemned antisemitism,” Hermer stated to a news outlet.
Further Testimonies Surface
A series of inquiries last month documented the accounts of several one-time schoolmates of Farage from a south London school.
One, a former pupil, recalled that a teenage Farage "came up to me and growl: ‘The Nazi leader was correct’ or ‘send them to the gas chambers’, occasionally including a long hiss to imitate the sound of the gas showers”.
Another minority ethnic pupil alleged that when he was about nine, he was singled out by a older Farage.
“He came over to a pupil flanked by two tall mates and addressed anyone looking ‘other’,” the individual said. “That happened to me on three separate times; questioning me where I was from, and gesturing, saying: ‘Go back that way,’ to any place you answered you were from.”
Since then, more people have stepped forward; around two dozen people have now alleged they were either victims of or saw hurtful past behaviour by Farage.
The incidents they recounted cover the period when Farage was aged 13 to 18.
Denials and Shifting Positions
The political figure has denied that anything he did was "explicitly" racist or antisemitic, and has asserted the former classmates were misremembering.
Observers have pointed out that Farage has failed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism in a wider sense in his responses.
They also cite his inability to discipline a fellow Reform MP, Sarah Pochin, after she made remarks about the number of black and brown people she saw in adverts. She later expressed regret for the remarks.
“Nigel Farage’s evolving narrative about his behaviour to his schoolmates [is] hard to believe, to say the least,” Hermer commented.
He continued: “Suggesting that two dozen individuals have somehow misremembered the same things about his nasty behaviour simply is not believable."
Call for Leadership
“If he wishes to be seen as a credible figure for the top job, he must acknowledge the concerns of the Jewish community, and say sorry to the many people he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer concluded.
“Prejudice in all its forms is abhorrent to the standards of this country and we should not let it to ever become normalised in society.”
In a different discussion, a senior politician said Farage should “say something” if he wanted to look like a real leader.
“It speaks volumes how 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 not to say something,” she remarked.
Formal Denials and Subsequent Comments
In lawyers' communications prior to the release of the report, Farage’s representatives asserted that “the implication that Mr Farage ever was involved in, supported, or led this behaviour is strongly rejected”.
Farage later seemingly shifted his stance in an interview, stating: “Have I said things 50 years ago that you could see as being teenage humour, you could interpret in a modern light today in some way? Possibly.”
He added that he had “not once intentionally attempted to go and upset anybody”. Farage subsequently put out a new statement: “I can tell you definitely that I did not say the things that have been reported aged 13, nearly 50 years ago.”