Cllr Richard Kemp, a former Lord Mayor of Liverpool, has refused to apologise after comparing the matchday queuing system at Sandhills station to a concentration camp. He now faces calls to be suspended alongside Liberal Democrat colleague Cllr Pat Moloney, who made a similar comparison during the same planning committee discussion.
Comments at planning meeting
During a debate on the expansion of a queuing area at the station for fans travelling to and from Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium on matchdays, Cllr Kemp said the current arrangement risked treating fans "like cattle." He added that the lanes were "like the greeting area for Auschwitz."
Cllr Moloney said the corralling zones and sterile areas proposed for staff and fans was "like something out of a horrific death camp in Nazi Germany." Cllr Kemp told the ECHO he stood by his assessment, while Cllr Moloney said he would apologise if he had caused offence.
Calls for suspension
The comments were condemned by Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram and Cllr Liam Robinson, leader of the Labour group and city council. They have written to Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, calling for both councillors to be suspended pending investigation.
In their letter, the two men said: "We respectfully ask: what is going on here?" They added: "You have visited Auschwitz yourself and will know better than most why comparisons of this kind are so offensive and ill-judged."
The Labour leaders said they were of the view "this kind of hyperbole has no place in public discourse." The letter added: "The men, women and children who perished at Auschwitz were victims of one of the worst crimes in human history. There is no meaningful comparison between their suffering and football supporters travelling home from a match."
Councillors' responses
Cllr Kemp took a combative stance in his response to the letter and took aim at the Labour figures. He said: "It's simple, Steve Rotheram and Liam Robinson are covering up their own incompetence. They've had eight years to provide safe conditions for fans to get to and from the station and they have failed totally to do that not only at Sandhills but all the other arrangements; parking, taxis, disabled people being able to get near the gates."
Asked if he would retract his comment about Auschwitz or apologise, the former Lord Mayor said: "The way they (Merseyrail officials) are talking about Evertonians and fans is absolutely disgraceful and therefore the description I made is apt."
Cllr Moloney said: "I would say perhaps if I've gone too far and if I've offended anyone I apologise for that but the language and the attitude of it, I stand by that."
