A Tory MP insists that he has been misunderstood after sparking a major backlash by branding the Olympic opening ceremony “leftie multicultural crap”.
Aidan Burley, who was forced to quit as a ministerial aide after attending a Nazi-themed stag do last year, delivered the barbs on Twitter during the event.
One post read: “The most leftie opening ceremony I have ever seen – more than Beijing, the capital of a communist state! Welfare tribute next?”
Shortly afterwards he added: “Thank God the athletes have arrived! Now we can move on from leftie multicultural crap. Bring back red arrows (sic), Shakespeare and the Stones!”
The tweets caused an avalanche of criticism on the social networking site, including from fellow Conservative Gavin Barwell.
“@AidanBurleyMP with respect, us Londoners are rather proud of the diversity of our city #nothingleftwingaboutit,” the Croydon MP posted.
Downing Street moved quickly to distance Prime Minister David Cameron from the comments, with a senior source saying simply: “We do not agree with him.”
The Cannock Chase MP could also be facing a fight to keep hold of his seat after former footballer Stan Collymore, who hails from the area, angrily replied: “I’ll happily stand against you at the next election. You have no clue about our town or its people.”
Mr Burley was touted as a rising Tory star when he won Cannock Chase in 2010 with a huge swing from Labour.
However, he lost his job as a parliamentary private secretary when details emerged of a stag do he attended in the skiing resort of Val Thorens last December. One guest was alleged to have dressed in an SS uniform while others were said to have chanted Nazi slogans.
