Top Law Officer Calls On Nigel Farage to Say Sorry Over Alleged Antisemitic and Racist Behaviour.
The United Kingdom's attorney general, Richard Hermer, has demanded Nigel Farage to apologise to school contemporaries who claim he targeted with racist abuse them during their years in education.
Hermer stated that Farage had "clearly deeply hurt" many people, judging by their descriptions of his alleged conduct. He added that the politician's "shifting" statements had been unconvincing.
“Throughout his defensive responses to valid inquiries, not once has Farage truly condemned antisemitism,” Hermer informed a news outlet.
Fresh Claims Come to Light
A published report last month detailed the accounts of several ex-pupils of Farage from a private college.
One, Peter Ettedgui, described that a teenage Farage "would sidle up to me and growl: ‘Hitler was right’ or ‘gas them’, occasionally including a long hiss to mimic the sound of the Nazi gas chambers”.
Another student of colour 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 person said. “That involved me on three occasions; questioning me where I was from, and motioning, saying: ‘That's how you get back,’ to wherever you said you were from.”
Following the initial report, others have emerged; approximately twenty people have now stated they were either subject to or observed hurtful conduct by Farage.
The alleged events they outlined relate to 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 accusers were not telling the truth.
Observers have noted that Farage has failed to condemn antisemitism and other forms of racism outright in his statements.
They also point to his reluctance to reprimand a party member, a MP, after she complained about the number of black and brown people she saw in television commercials. She later apologised for the statements.
“His evolving narrative about his behaviour to his Jewish classmates [is] hard to believe, to say the least,” Hermer stated.
He went on to say: “Claiming that two dozen individuals have all recalled incorrectly the same things about his hurtful behaviour simply lacks credibility."
Demand for Accountability
“If he wants to be seen as a credible figure for prime minister, he must acknowledge the fears of the Jewish community, and apologise to the numerous individuals he has clearly deeply hurt by his behaviour,” Hermer said.
“Bigotry in all its forms is anathema to the values of this country and we should not let it to ever become legitimised in politics.”
In a different discussion, a senior politician said Farage should “speak out” if he wanted to be considered a genuine leader.
“It is very telling how little he has to say, and the precisely drafted words that both you and I would recognise as being drafted in a certain style to communicate, but also dodge the issue,” she said.
Legal Letters and Later Statements
In legal letters before the publication of the report, Farage’s representatives stated that “the implication that Mr Farage ever engaged in, condoned, or led this behaviour is strongly rejected”.
Farage later altered his position in an appearance, stating: “Did I say things as a youth that you could see as being playground talk, you could interpret in a today's standards today in some way? Perhaps.”
He said that he had “not ever purposely sought to go and harm anybody”. Farage afterwards issued a new statement: “I can tell you unequivocally that I did not say the things that have been reported as a 13-year-old, nearly 50 years ago.”