Councillors apologise for Nazi Germany comparison
Two councillors in Liverpool, including a former lord mayor, have apologised after comparing a railway station’s football matchday operations with Nazi Germany’s concentration camps, reports BritPanorama.
Liberal Democrat councillors Richard Kemp, Liverpool’s lord mayor from 2024 to 2025, and Pat Moloney made the remarks during a city council planning meeting on proposed changes to Sandhills station, which serves Everton FC’s new Hill Dickinson stadium.
The Merseyrail station has faced criticism since Everton’s move to their waterfront stadium last year, struggling to handle matchday capacity. The rail operator aims to improve safety with suggested “corralling areas” and “sterile zones.”
These proposals were met with backlash from several councillors, as first reported by the Liverpool Echo. Cllr Moloney stated that the scheme resembled “something out of a horrific death camp in Nazi Germany” and Cllr Kemp likened the current waiting system to “a greeting area at Auschwitz.”
The Liverpool City Region’s Labour mayor Steve Rotheram and city council leader Liam Robinson wrote to Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey, requesting that the party whip be removed from both councillors and calling for an investigation.
“This kind of hyperbole has no place in public discourse,” the Labour politicians wrote, stressing that the lives lost at Auschwitz were victims of one of history’s worst crimes. They noted the inappropriate comparison with football supporters travelling home from a match.
Additionally, they expressed concern about the remarks made by two members of the same planning committee during a single discussion, indicating deeper issues of judgment.
The Jewish community in the city also condemned the comments made by Cllr Kemp and Cllr Moloney. Initially, the former lord mayor stated to the Echo that he stood by his remarks, while Cllr Moloney expressed a willingness to apologise if he caused any offence.
On Wednesday evening, in a joint statement, the senior Liberal Democrats assured that neither “would ever knowingly cause hurt to that community.”
They added: “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.”
The councillors acknowledged that if their language used during a heated debate caused genuine offence, they sincerely apologised for it. They maintained that their comments were intended to highlight a significant issue regarding the station’s preparedness for the new stadium.
The pair pointed out that despite nine years’ notice of the new stadium, Merseyrail and the city region were still proposing to manage fans inadequately at Sandhills station, lacking proper plans for parking, taxis, or disabled access.
They concluded that this was a failure on the part of Steve Rotheram and Liam Robinson, ultimately impacting Evertonians every matchday.
A final decision on the plans has been postponed pending further discussions.
A Liberal Democrat spokesperson stated, “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.”
