The UK's Attorney General, Richard Hermer, has publicly called on Nigel Farage to apologise for alleged racist comments and behaviour during his school years, stating the claims have 'clearly deeply hurt' people.
Top Lawyer Condemns Farage's Response
Lord Hermer, who is Jewish, criticised the Reform UK leader's reaction to the allegations from around 20 former classmates. Speaking to the Guardian, he dismissed Farage's defence as lacking credibility. "Arguing that 20 people have somehow all misremembered the same things about his nasty behaviour simply isn’t credible," Hermer stated.
He emphasised that Farage had failed to condemn antisemitism in his responses and argued that racism is 'anathema to the values of this country'. Hermer insisted that if Farage wishes to be seen as a legitimate candidate for prime minister, he must urgently address the concerns of the Jewish community and apologise.
Decades-Old Allegations from Dulwich College
The allegations stem from Farage's time as a pupil at Dulwich College in south London, between the ages of 13 and 18. More than a dozen former classmates have come forward with specific claims.
Award-winning director Peter Ettedgui, then 13, alleged Farage would tell him 'Hitler was right' or 'Gas them', accompanying the latter with a hiss to mimic gas chambers. Another unnamed former pupil described Farage teaching songs about gassing Jews during Combined Cadet Force (CCF) activities.
Patrick Neylan and Tim France, both 61 and contemporaries of Farage, corroborated accounts of the 'gas 'em' song on CCF camps and claimed Farage would regularly perform the Nazi 'Sieg Heil' salute.
Political Pressure and Denials
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has previously labelled Farage 'spineless' on racism and, last week, directly called for an apology. Starmer found Farage's explanation—that he never engaged with racism with 'intent'—unconvincing, stating a young Jewish student would undoubtedly find such actions upsetting.
Farage and Reform UK have categorically denied all allegations, dismissing them as a politically motivated smear campaign emerging only as his party leads in the polls. Farage stated, "I can tell you categorically that I did not say the things that have been published in the Guardian aged 13, nearly 50 years ago."
When pressed to deny racially abusing pupils, Farage responded, "I would never, ever do it in a hurtful or insulting way," later adding the events were 49 years in the past and that he cannot remember everything from his teenage years.
