Esther McVey under fire for comparing smoking ban to Nazi Germany

Esther McVey has been convicted for comparing the government’s plans to extend the smoking ban to those of Nazi Germany.

The former Conservative cabinet minister placed a famous poem about the Nazi persecution of Jews on X.

The poem, written in 1946 by German pastor Martin Niemoller, reads: “First they came for the communists, and I kept my mouth shut because I was not a communist.

“Then they came for the Jews and I did not speak, because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak for me.”

Below, the MP for Tatton wrote: “Pertinent words on Starmer’s smoking ban.”

Criticism of McVey’s post was led by the Board of Deputies of British Jews, which said: “Using Martin Neimoller’s poem about the horrors of the Nazis to describe a possible smoking ban is an ill-considered and repugnant action.

“We urge the MP for Tatton to remove her tweet and apologise for this breathtakingly thoughtless comparison.”

Cabinet Office Minister Ellie Reeves said: “This is grossly insulting from someone who was sitting at the Tory Cabinet table just a few months ago. These comments should be condemned by the Leader of the Opposition and those vying to be the next Tory leader.”

Health Minister Wes Streeting told McVey to “get a grip on himself”.

But McVey reiterated her earlier comments and insisted she would not be “pressured” to remove her original post.

She said: “No one is suggesting that banning smoking outside pubs is on a par with what was done to Jews by the Nazis. It’s ridiculous that anyone would even suggest I did that.

“It’s called an analogy: Those who restrict freedoms start with easy goals and then expand their reach.

“I’m pretty sure everyone understands what I meant and knows that no insult was ever intended and no equivalence was suggested.”

Former Labour MP John Mann, who was the government’s last independent adviser on antisemitism, said: “The apology is worse than the original. I suggest she removes both quickly and saves herself further embarrassment.”