‘A complete whitewash’: Labour pours scorn on Nazi Tory report
A Conservative report into an MP who organised a Nazi-themed stag do has been branded "a complete whitewash" by a Labour MP.
Ian Austin has written to Lord Gold, who authored the Tory party report into the incident, to raise discrepancies between his account of Aiden Burley's party in the French Alps and those of people there at the time.
"It's a complete whitewash. The report Lord Gold has issued completely contradicts the original account of events," he told Politics.co.uk.
"It'll be really interesting to see what the Mail on Sunday [which broke the original story] has to say because it effectively says their original report of the party was untrue.
"Who did Lord Gold speak to? Did he speak to the journalists who were there. Anyone else from the party? Anyone at the restaurant? It looks to me as if he's relied entirely on just Aiden Burley's account."
The Gold report accepted that Burley bought a Nazi uniform in Britain and flew it to Val Thoren in France where the stag do was taking place. He found Burley did not know he was breaking French law by doing so.
"Mr Burley argued strongly that the choice of costume was inspired by the British comic association with aspects of the war. He categorically denies that there was any political motivation whatsoever," it said.
"We accept that there was no political motivation."
It added: "We conclude that he did not make his offence explicitly clear. Given the standards expected of a member of parliament, he should have done so.
"It was appropriate for him to be sacked and reprimanded as recognition of the offence that he has caused as a Conservative member of parliament.
"His actions were stupid and offensive, and the conclusions and recommendations reflect that."
But the report backed up several key points in Burley's testimony, which are questioned by those who saw the scenes.
It accepted that Burley found a Nazi-themed toast "deeply offensive" and that he left immediately afterwards, although it criticised him for not expressing his offence.
It also accepted that he was not at the pub when the party started chanting the names of prominent Nazis.
Both those conclusions contradict the Mail on Sunday report.
"Mr Burley, who was standing a few feet away, was not seen to object to this or any other behaviour that evening," the original report read.
The original report found Burley told a French waiter: "You are from Germany? No, you must be from Austria, then?" and "Are you insulting his Reich?"
Burley's own account of the evening has been highly contradictory.
He told the Jewish Chronicle that he had not left the party, saying: "I wish I had left as soon as I had realised what was happening".
A week later, he told the Express and Star: "I left the restaurant immediately when that inexcusable behaviour by other guests started."
Austin commented: "This report completely contradicts the original reports of the disgraceful party and no one should accept its conclusions.
"This wasn't some sort of 'Allo Allo' style joke and it wasn't a bunch of kids messing about. This was a group of grown men, in their thirties, one of them an MP, at a party at which guests toasted the Third Reich and chanted 'Mein Fuhrer, Mein Fuhrer, Mein Fuhrer', 'Himmler, Himmler, Himmler' and 'Eichmann, Eichmann, Eichmann'.
"His behaviour was an absolute disgrace and he’s admitted bringing shame on his constituency.
"They shouldn’t be brushing it under the carpet. They should be removing the whip and kicking him out."
The Lord Gold report concluded: "Mr Burley is not a bad man, still less a racist or anti-Semite. However, his actions were stupid and offensive, and the conclusions and recommendations reflect that."
