Stephanie Callaghan, a candidate running for the Scottish National Party in the Scottish Parliament for Uddingston and Bellshill, was criticized Sunday after tweets surfaced in which she compared former British prime minister Theresa May to Adolf Hitler, as reported by the local newspaper Barry & District News.
In a 2017 tweet, Callaghan said that May's decision denying a Scottish independence referendum is “Tory propaganda [that] provides a window into future plans: stamp on democracy. Hitler did same: set scene 4 Jewish Holocaust to lower opposition.”
In reaction to the tweet, the Campaign Against Antisemitism said that the UK political situation cannot be compared to Nazi Germany, saying in a statement that “There is no comparison between political tensions in the UK today and Nazi Germany’s systematic destruction of democracy and murder of six million Jewish men, women and children."
“Politicians must set an example by learning the lessons of the Holocaust – not diminishing the memory of those innocents who were slaughtered by using the Holocaust to score political points. To make such a comparison is disgraceful and wounding, showing incredible ignorance,” the organization added.
Following the backlash, Callaghan apologized for her tweet, saying “I have deleted an old tweet which I accept was crass and insensitive, and I apologize unreservedly for posting it."
“It’s wrong to compare the Holocaust to any other political action, because there’s simply no comparison. I very much want to learn from that mistake though, and will be seeking to work with groups such as (Scottish Council of Jewish Communities) and the Holocaust Educational Trust.”
Callaghan was also criticized by the Scottish Tories and Liberal Democrats, with representatives of both parties saying an apology would not suffice.