Brit mayor faces calls to resign after Hitler comments

LONDON - A mayor has sparked outrage by allegedly referring to Adolf Hitler in a discussion on travellers.

Mike Eckersley, mayor of Prestatyn and a Conservative Denbighshire councillor, allegedly claimed that Hitler had the ‘right idea’ about dealing with Germany’s gipsies, reports the Daily Mail.

Eckersley is reported to have made the reference at a council equalities meeting, which was immediately halted.

Fellow councillors called for him to quit and for David Cameron to throw him out of the Tory party.

Eckersley later offered an apology, claiming he simply referred to the Nazis rather than praised them.

“We have to work with travellers, it’s as simple as that. I agree I could have worded what I said better and I apologise if I have caused any offence,” said Eckersley, denying a racist slur.

However, Christine Evans, an independent councillor who chaired the meeting, said he had spoken of how Hitler got rid of the gipsies.

“He definitely used the term Hitler when talking about the traveller issue and the thrust was suggesting that we should move the travellers out the country,” she said.

Evans halted the meeting and told the mayor that he should retract his ‘heat of the moment’ comments or be thrown out.

“These comments are shocking. Hitler had gipsies gassed or experimented on - he can’t say something like that and stay on as our mayor,” said fellow Prestatyn councillor Peter Duffy, who is of Romany descent. (ANI)