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.
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Health Secretary Wes Streeting posted a damning response on X, pointing to plans by the previous Tory government to ban smoking for younger people and telling Ms McVey to “get a grip”.
He wrote: “No, I do not think the post-war confessional of Martin Niemöller about the silent complicity of the German intelligentsia and clergy in the Nazi rise to power is pertinent to a smoking bill that was in your manifesto and ours to tackle one of the biggest killers.”
Labour Party chair Ellie Reeve called Ms Mcvey’s post “grossly offensive from someone who sat at the Tory cabinet table just months ago”, calling for it to be condemned by Conservative leader Rishi Sunak and all the candidates running to replace him.
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Smoking ban in pub gardens being considered
But in a statement given to Sky News, Ms McVey said: “Nobody is suggesting that banning smoking outside pubs can be equated with what happened to the Jews at the hands of the Nazis. It is ridiculous for anyone to even suggest that was what I was doing.
“It is called an analogy – those who restrict freedoms start with easy targets then expand their reach.
“I am pretty sure everyone understands the point I was making and knows that no offence was ever intended and that no equivalence was being suggested.”
Attacking the new “socialist” Labour government, she said its actions should “send shudders down everyone’s spine”, claiming it was “imposing laws it has no mandate for, whether removing money from pensioners, removing freedoms from individuals [or] presiding over a two-tier system of policing and justice”.
She added: “I will not be bullied into removing a tweet by people who are deliberately twisting the meaning of my words and finding offence when they know none was intended.
“We already have too much of that politically correct bullying designed to silence any free speech they don’t like. If they think I can be bullied in that way then they have picked the wrong target. Someone has to make a stand against the metropolitan politically correct bullies.”
Ms Mcvey concluded: “It is not my tweet people should be outraged about, but Starmer lying to get into power and then taking people for fools.”
A number of Tory MPs have spoken out against the proposals today, accusing Labour of imposing on people’s freedoms, while Reform Party leader Nigel Farage has vowed to never go to the pub again if the rule is brought in.
Others from across the hospitality industry have also warned the move will damage their incomes.
But it has been welcomed by health charities who say it will protect people from the dangers of second-hand smoke.
Sky News has contacted both Ms McVey and the Conservative Party for a response.