A tweet from a Tory MP about proposals to ban smoking in pub gardens has been called “repugnant” by the Board of Deputies of British Jews.
Sir Keir Starmer confirmed on Thursday that his government was looking at outlawing smoking in some public spaces, including on restaurant terraces, outside nightclubs and in some parks.
But responding to the news, former minister for “common sense” Esther McVey posted a famous Martin Niemöller poem about inaction from within Germany against the Nazis during the Second World War, adding: “Pertinent words re Starmer’s smoking ban”.
The Jewish advocacy group later posted a statement on X, saying using the words that described “the horrors of the Nazis” and comparing it to the proposals was “an ill-considered and repugnant action”.
They added: “We would strongly encourage the MP for Tatton to delete her tweet and apologise for this breathtakingly thoughtless comparison.”
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But Ms McVey said it was “ridiculous for anyone to even suggest” she was equating the two, and while “no offence was intended”, she would “not be bullied” into deleting the tweet.
