‘Bye Bye Burley’: Labour seizes on anti-Olympic tweet for fundraising
Labour has used Aidan Burley's tweet against the Olympic opening ceremony to promote a fund dedicated the throwing the MP out of parliament.
The Conservative MP, who was sacked as a parliamentary private secretary after he was photographed at a stag party wearing a Nazi uniform, said the ceremony was "leftie multi-cultural crap".
Tweeting during the ceremony on Friday night, he wrote: "The most leftie opening ceremony I have ever seen – more than Beijing, the capital of a communist state! Welfare tribute next?"
He later tried to backtrack, saying his tweet was "misunderstood" and did not refer to "multiculturalism itself".
But by Saturday the Tory MP had returned to a more robust message, saying the ceremony had a "political agenda".
"It then seemed to flick into a rather political opening ceremony with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, lots of stuff about the NHS, with Shami Chakrabarti from Liberty carrying the flag," he said.
"And I just question really why make the open ceremony political at all?"
Labour has tried to seize on public irritation at the Tory MP, whose mistimed comments came during a wave of national celebration at a well-received opening ceremony
The local Labour party in Can nock Chase has set up a 'Bye Bye Burley' campaign, asking for £10 to help kick out the MP, who relies on a majority of just 3,195.
"David Cameron should show some leadership and demand a full apology from Aidan Burley immediately," Labour MP Michael Dugher said.
"Burley has got form. His comments were stupid, ignorant and offensive."
