MP apologises after friends chant Nazi slogans at stag do
A Conservative MP apologised yesterday after it emerged he had attended a stag party with friends who chanted Nazi slogans while one of them wore an SS uniform.
Aidan Burley, MP for Cannock Chase, took to Twitter to express his "deep regret" over the incident, part of which was caught on video. The MP was pictured eating and drinking at French ski resort Val Thorens with 12 friends, some of whom chanted "Hitler, Hitler, Hitler", The Mail on Sunday reported.
One toasted the "Third Reich" and another allegedly taunted a waiter for being French, the newspaper said. Mr Burley, a senior aide to the Transport Secretary, Justine Greening, was filmed sitting next to another party goer dressed in a black SS uniform and cap.
After moving on to a British-themed pub, it was reported that some of the group repeatedly chanted: "Mein Fuhrer!", "Himmler!" and "Eichmann!"
Mr Burley, 32, tweeted: "Deeply regret inappropriate behaviour by some guests at stag party I attended and I am extremely sorry for any offence that was caused."
The paper quoted a French police spokesman as saying an investigation could be launched into the incident. "Anti-Semitic and pro-Nazi crimes are taken extremely seriously in France. Anyone suspected of breaking the law in this respect can and will be prosecuted," he said. The shadow Transport minister, John Woodcock, called for Mr Burley to be sacked: "This sickening behaviour brings shame on the country and it is particularly appalling that an MP seems to have been standing by while it happened. David Cameron should stop dithering and sack him."
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