David Starkey branded 'serial utterer of bile' for likening SNP to Nazis

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Furious row over comments by the outspoken 70-year-old historian
Accused SNP of treating the English like the Nazis persecuted Jews
Claimed Scottish men wearing kilts were like Germans in lederhosen
SNP MPs accuse him of being offensive to Christians, Jews and all Scots

By Matt Chorley, Political Editor for MailOnline

Published: 03:02 EST, 14 June 2015 | Updated: 08:02 EST, 14 June 2015

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TV historian David Starkey was today branded a 'serial utterer of bile and bilge' after he likened the Scottish National Party to the Nazis.

The outspoken 70-year-old claimed the Saltire was like the swastika and accused the SNP of treating the English in the way Hitler persecuted the Jews.

Furious SNP leaders condemned the comments as 'unsavoury and absurd' and said they served as an insult to the Jewish community and the millions who support the party in Scotland.

TV historian David Starkey was today branded a 'serial utterer of bile and bilge' after he likened the Scottish National Party to the Nazis

Starkey claimed the saltire (left) was like the swastika logo and flag, suggesting both the SNP and Nazis had 'as a symbol the twisted cross'

The SNP secured a stunning victory north of the border in last month's general election, winning 56 of the 59 seats in Scotland.

However Mr Starkey has drawn a lengthy comparison between the messages, imagery and appeal of the Nicola Sturgeon's party and that of Hilter's Nazis.

He even drew parallels between Scottish men showing their knees in kilts and and the Nazi enthusiasm for lederhosen.

SNP MP Kirsten Oswald today branded the remarks 'irresponsible' and said they have absolutely no basis in reality while John Nicholson said they were offensive to Christians, Jews and all Scots.

SNP fury: MP John Nicholson said Starkey said the 'silliest thing that comes into his mind' while Kirsten Oswald said Starkey's comments were 'irresponsible and deeply offensive'

In an interview with the Sunday Times, Starkey said: 'What are the points of comparison?

'Well, we have a political movement that has a single historic explanation for why your country is facing such terrible oppression; it's either Versailles or the Treaty of the Union.

'You have a particular group of people who are responsible for this; it is either the English or the Jews.'

You have as a symbol the twisted cross: the saltire or the swastika

David Starkey

Starkey, who has previously sparked controversy by describing Scotland as a 'feeble little country', went on: 'You have as a symbol the twisted cross: the saltire or the swastika. You have a passionate belief in economic self-sufficiency: known by the Nazis as autarky and the Scots as oil.

'And also you have the propensity of your elderly and middle-aged male supporters to expose their knees,' he said, passing comment on the traditional dress of Scotland and Germany.

He claimed that those who sympathise with the SNP, especially in England, are 'incapable of recognising that this is national socialism. And the nationalism is much more important than the socialism, as it was in Germany. The socialism is a very fragile, superficial thing. The nationalism is very real.'

Nicola Sturgeon's SNP secured a stunning victory north of the border in last month's general election, winning 56 of the 59 seats in Scotland

But the comments were today angrily condemned by the SNP, who accused Starkey of being detached from reality.

Miss Oswald said: 'David Starkey's comments are irresponsible; deeply offensive to the Jewish community, the half of the Scottish electorate who voted SNP last month and 60 per cent who currently intend to vote SNP next year; and have absolutely no basis in reality.

Does he just say the silliest thing that comes into his mind on any given day?

SNP MP John Nicholson

'He has become little more than a serial utterer of bile and bilge.

'The independence movement in Scotland is entirely civic and peaceful - and last year's referendum was a celebration of democracy.

'David Starkey - who has described Scotland as a 'feeble little country' in the past - has previously prompted outrage from the Glasgow Jewish Education Forum for similar comments, but it seems he has not yet got the message that there is no appetite for these unsavoury and absurd views.'

SNP MP John Nicholson told BBC One's Andrew Marr: 'Does he just say the silliest thing that comes into his mind on any given day?

'He says the St Andrews Flag, the saltire flag, looks like a swastika. He seems not quite to understand the origins of he calls it the twisted cross rather than the cross that St Andrew was crucified on out of respect to the original cross.

'It's offensive to Christians, to Jews and obviously Scots.'

STARKEY'S OUTRAGEOUS VIEWS ON WOMEN, SCOTS AND PRINCESS ANNE

David Starkey has often courted controversy over the years, as these quotes show

APRIL 2015: 'I think that the evidence suggests that there are different distributions of intelligence between men and women, that women tend to cluster more around the mean, men are either very, very bright or very thick.'

NOVEMBER 2013: 'I never thought of Princess Anne who is much given to riding around on horses - looks rather like one generally - as a satirist

APRIL 2012: 'If you think about it, Alex Salmond is a democratic Caledonian Hitler, although some would say Hitler was more democratically elected,' he said. [For him] the English, like the Jews, are everywhere.'

AUGUST 2011: 'A substantial section of the chavs have become black. The whites have become black. A particular sort of violent, destructive, nihilistic gangster culture has become the fashion.'

APRIL 2009: 'If we decide to go down this route of an English national day it will mean we have become a feeble little country, just like the Scots and the Welsh and the Irish. The Scots and the Welsh are typical small nations with a romantic 19th century-style nationalism.'

New Tory MP branded a 'Nazi' and 'slag' by SNP supporters after making a joke about Oliver Cromwell's suppression of Scots

A new Tory MP has been bombarded with sexist and anti-semitic abuse by SNP supporters after making a joke about the Scots during her maiden Commons speech.

High-flying barrister Lucy Frazer was called a 'Nazi' and a 'slag' for referring to Oliver Cromwell's suppression of the Scots more than three centuries ago.

The furore blew up after she noted that her South East Cambridgeshire constituency was once home to Oliver Cromwell, who 'defeated the Scots… incorporated Scotland into his protectorate and transported the Scots as slaves to the colonies'.

Maiden speech: Lucy Frazer bombarded with sexist and anti-semitic abuse by SNP supporters after making a joke about Oliver Cromwell's suppression of the Scots more than three centuries ago

Lucy Frazer makes controversial remarks about Scotland

The Cambridge-educated QC, 42, went on to make clear that her reference was light-hearted, joking that it would 'solve' constitutional headaches over how much voting power should be given to Scots MPs.

However, within minutes of her speech earlier this month, Ms Frazer's personal Facebook page was swamped with dozens of deeply offensive messages from so-called 'cybernats', who use social media to attack their political opponents.

The posts continued despite the MP saying she was 'extremely sorry for any offence' and that she had 'the highest regard for the Scottish people'. Ms Frazer, who is descended from Jewish immigrants, was subjected to vitriolic anti-semitic jibes.

The incident comes amid growing outrage over the activities of cybernats. On Friday, SNP official Brian Smith resigned after making abusive Twitter comments about the late Charles Kennedy.

The convener of the SNP's Skye and Lochalsh branch sent the former Liberal Democrat leader more than 130 messages before his death on June 1 after a battle with alcoholism, calling him a 'drunken slob'.

Ms Frazer declined to comment on the abuse last night.

An SNP spokesman said: 'Political debate must be positive and respectful… Ms Frazer's speech in which she appeared to laugh about Scots slaves being transported to the colonies... was obviously neither.'