A LABOUR MP who likened hardcore Brexiters in the Tory Party to the Nazis has doubled down on the comparison – insisting it is not “strong enough”.
David Lammy said people across the UK are experiencing “rising hate and extremism” and argued it must be called out “for what it is”.
He made the comments after being asked about a previous comparison he made between the European Research Group (ERG) of Eurosceptic Tories and the Nazi Party and South African apartheid state.
Speaking at a rally last month, he told supporters of a second EU referendum that the ERG should not be "appeased", just as Winston Churchill did not appease Hitler.
Appearing on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, it was put to him that this was unacceptable.
He replied: "Andrew, I would say that that wasn't strong enough. In 1938 there were allies who hatched a plan for Hitler to annex part of Czechoslovakia, and Churchill said no, and he stood alone.
"We must not appease. We're in a situation now, and let me just be clear, I'm an ethnic minority.
"We have, in the ERG, in Jacob Rees-Mogg, someone who is happy to put on to his web pages the horrible, racist AfD party, a party that's Islamophobic and on the far-right."
Mr Lammy added: "They're happy to use the phrase 'grand wizard'. KKK is what it evokes to me when I think of that phrase and the Deep South.
"I'm sorry, but very, very seriously, of course we should not appease that, of course we should not appease that."
It came after Mr Rees-Mogg was criticised for tweeting a video of a speech by a member of Germany’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). He has denied supporting the party.
Meanwhile, last month it was claimed a group of Tory Brexiters had been given the nickname “grand wizards” among some insiders.
Mr Lammy continued: "The BBC should not allow this extreme hard right fascism to flourish."
When it was pointed out that he was referring to elected MPs, he said: “I don’t care how elected they are. So was the far-right in Germany – they are often elected, often giving a cover for the thugs on the ground.
“And I’m afraid when people are experiencing rising hate and extremism in this country, we must not concede ground. We must fight it and call it out for what it is.”
He added: "What kind of country are we going to be like if these people are running it?"
Host Andrew Marr asked Mr Lammy if he was saying Mr Rees-Mogg and Boris Johnson are equivalent to Nazis.
Mr Lammy replied: "Ask Boris Johnson why he's hanging out with [former Donald Trump strategist] Steve Bannon."
The Tottenham MP said he didn’t care “how outraged” people might be by the comparison, adding: “I think that would be a minority, if they’ve got any sense.
“Because British soldiers in this country died fighting this thuggery and extremism.
“And here we are, in 2019, and people are bringing it into the mainstream for their own political advantage. Absolutely not, absolute not – we can’t have it.”
Elsewhere, he insisted he would not support any Brexit compromise deal that did not include a second EU referendum as part of the agreement.
He said: "If we're staying in a customs union you can't go off and strike free trade deals. I'm not sure many leavers voted for that.
"If we went with Norway, which has its attractions, again we would be a rule taker. I'm not sure many people voted for that.
"So, clearly, the best thing to do - when a deal emerges - is to ask the country whether they like the deal."
Tory MP Conor Burns tweeted: "I used to have regard for David Lammy. But this is bats**t. Comparing ERG to Hitler is quite something. Fully lost it."
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