Tory MP Esther McVey blasted as ‘repugnant’ after former ‘common sense’ minister likens Labour’s proposed outdoor smoking ban to the Holocaust

Tory MP Esther McVey has provoked outrage after appearing to liken Labour‘s proposed ban on outdoor smoking to the horrors of the Holocaust.

The former Cabinet minister saw a social media post, in which she shared Martin Niemoller’s 1946 poem First They Came, branded as ‘repugnant’.

The Tatton MP, who was the Conservative government’s ‘common sense minister’ until her party’s crushing general election defeat, posted the poem on X, formerly known as Twitter.

It includes the lines: ‘Then they came for the Jews. And I did not speak out.’ And Ms McVey added underneath the verse: ‘Pertinent words re Starmer’s smoking ban’.

Her post prompted a furious reaction from Jewish groups and demands for her to apologise.

But Ms McVey later doubled down and insisted she would not be ‘bullied into removing a tweet by people who are deliberately twisting the meaning of my words’.

The former Cabinet minister saw a social media post, in which she shared Martin Niemoller’s 1946 poem First They Came, branded as ‘repugnant’

Ms McVey later doubled down and insisted she would not be ‘bullied into removing a tweet by people who are deliberately twisting the meaning of my words’

In response to Ms McVey’s initial post, the Board of Deputies of British Jews condemned the Tory MP for her choice of words

The Tatton MP was the Conservative government’s ‘common sense minister’ until her party’s general election defeat

In response to Ms McVey’s initial post, the Board of Deputies of British Jews condemned the Tory MP for her choice of words.

The Board said in a statement: ‘The use of Martin Niemoller’s poem about the horrors of the Nazis to describe a potential smoking ban is an ill-considered and repugnant action.

‘We would strongly encourage the MP for Tatton to delete her tweet and apologise for this breathtakingly thoughtless comparison.’

Rabbi David Mason, executive director of the Jewish Council for Racial Equality, said: ‘Tasteless. Utterly tasteless. How can you not see that?’

Israeli writer Hen Mazzig also responded to Ms McVey’s post, writing: ‘A member of the British parliament equates a ban on smoking to a genocide of Jews.

‘If this were just a random tweet, I would make fun of it and move on.

‘But this person is a national policymaker, and can’t tell the difference between a public health policy and the largest, most industrialized genocide in history.’

He added: ‘Smoking can kill you. Being Jewish shouldn’t have to.’

Health Secretary Wes Streeting responded to Ms McVey with: ‘No, I do not think the postwar confessional of Martin Niemoller 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.’

He added: ‘Get a grip.’

Despite the outrage at her tweet, Ms McVey later returned to social media to defend her post.

She 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.

‘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.’

She added she would ‘not be bullied’ into removing the social media post by people ‘who are deliberately twisting the meaning of my words and finding offence when they know none was intended’.

The row came after Sir Keir Starmer yesterday confirmed he is considering a ban on outdoor smoking, which could see Brits barred from lighting up in beer gardens or outside stadiums.

The Prime Minister told journalists on a visit to Paris he is looking at changes to smoking laws as he pointed to a ‘huge burden’ on the NHS.

According to leaked plans, the Government is set to ban smoking in some outdoor areas in a bid to improve public health.

The indoor smoking ban, which was introduced under the previous Labour government in 2007, could be extended to cover other locations.

This may include small parks, outdoor restaurants or even shisha bars, as well as areas outside hospitals and football grounds.

Asked about the proposals, Sir Keir said: ‘My starting point on this is to remind everybody that over 80,000 people lose their lives every year because of smoking.

‘That is a preventable death, it’s a huge burden on the NHS and, of course, it is a burden on the taxpayer.

‘So, yes, we are going to take decisions in this space, more details will be revealed.

‘But this is a preventable series of deaths and we’ve got to take action to reduce the burden on the NHS and the taxpayer.’