Two Liberal Democrat councillors at the centre of a row over comments comparing a Liverpool train station to a Nazi concentration camp have apologised. Cllrs Richard Kemp and Pat Moloney said they would “never knowingly cause hurt” to the Jewish community after they compared Sandhills station to Auschwitz during a Liverpool Council planning debate.
Comments during planning debate
During a discussion 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, a former Lord Mayor of Liverpool, said the current arrangement risked treating fans “like cattle.” He added how the lanes were “like the greeting area for Auschwitz.”
Cllr Moloney added how corralling zones and sterile areas proposed for staff and fans were “like something out of a horrific death camp in Nazi Germany.”
Apology issued
In a statement issued this evening, Cllrs Kemp and Moloney issued an apology for their remarks. They said: “As councillors, we have given decades of service to this city, and both have a long record of standing alongside Liverpool’s Jewish community and speaking out against antisemitism whenever it has reared its head here.
“Neither of us would ever knowingly cause hurt to that community, and if the specific language used on Tuesday, in the heat of a debate about the treatment of football supporters, has caused genuine offence, we are both sorry for that, and say so without qualification.”
Criticism of station management
In the statement, the councillors continued their criticism of Mr Rotheram and the Labour Party’s management of the train station used by fans on matchdays. It added: “Nobody should let that regret be used, as Labour are trying to use it, to bury the substance of what was actually said. We were making a serious point about a serious failure. Nine years after the council knew a new stadium was coming, Merseyrail and the city region are still proposing to “corral” and “sterile-zone” fans like cattle at Sandhills station, with no proper plan for parking, taxis, or disabled access.
“That is Steve Rotheram and Liam Robinson’s failure, with Evertonians paying the price for every matchday.”
Reaction from Jewish leaders and Labour
Jewish community leaders had criticised both councillors for their choice of words. Marc Levy, North West, North Wales and West Midlands, Jewish Leadership Council external affairs manager, said: “This is a deeply offensive and breathtakingly thoughtless comparison, minimising the horrors of the Holocaust. Such remarks fall far below the standards that we expect of elected representatives and must be publicly rejected by the national Liberal Democrat leadership.”
A Liberal Democrat spokesperson said: “Both Richard and Pat have apologised for their choice of language. They understand the offence that has been caused and accept the language they used was insensitive.
“The Nazis’ systematic extermination of millions of Jewish people was the most horrific crime against humanity and it should always be treated as such.”
A formal complaint was also made to Liverpool Council's monitoring officer by the Liverpool Labour group. It said: “We believe that these comments are an example of Holocaust trivialisation and, as such, are potentially contrary to the IHRA definition of anti-semitism, which Liverpool Council adopted, and a breach of the councillors' code of conduct.”
