December 19, 2011
British lawmaker loses post over Nazi-themed party
Follow JewishJournal.com on 
A British lawmaker was fired from his job working for a senior Conservative Party minister after attending a Nazi-themed party.
Aiden Burley, 32, a parliamentary private secretary for Transport Secretary Justine Greening, was dismissed on Dec. 19, a week after photos of his presence at the stag party at a French ski resort came to light. At least one party participant dressed up in an SS officer’s uniform, and the guests toasted to the Nazi Party and the Third Reich.
Prime Minister David Cameron on Dec. 19 ordered a full investigation into the incident following reports that Burley had been responsible for ordering the SS uniform costumes.
It is illegal in France to wear or exhibit in public Nazi-era memorabilia or copies of such memorabilia.
Burley apologized for the incident with an “unreserved, wholehearted and fulsome apology” in a letter to the London-based Jewish Chronicle newspaper.
“On reflection, I wish I had left as soon as I had realized what was happening,” he wrote. “What was happening was wrong and I should have completely dissociated myself from it. I had a choice, and I made the wrong choice NOT to leave. I apologize for this error of judgment.”
Burley was elected to the House of Commons as a member of Parliament for Cannock Chase in 2010.
