Yahoo News Anger after author says 'Germans mucked up twice' at conference attended by top Tories
Political commentator Douglas Murray was criticised for his remarks referring to the First and Second World Wars
Watch: Right-wing author says 'Germans mucked up twice' during 20th century
A right-wing author has been accused of diminishing the impact of the Holocaust after he said Germany "mucked up twice" in the 20th century.
Political commentator Douglas Murray, associate editor of The Spectator magazine, made his controversial remarks on Monday during a speech at the National Conservatism Conference in London.
A number of senior figures from the Conservative Party are attending the three-day event, which home secretary Suella Braverman spoke at on Monday.
On the same day, Murray delivered a speech in which he said there was nothing wrong "with nationalism in a British context".
Referring to the First and Second World Wars, he said: "I see no reason why every other country in the world should be prevented from feeling pride in itself because the Germans mucked up twice in a century.
"In Europe, in particular, nationalism after all sounds different depending on the country you're in.
"Nationalism in Israel sounds different to nationalism in America, sounds different to nationalism in Italy, sounds different to nationalism here in Britain."
His comments on German nationalism in the 20th century were widely criticised.
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A spokesperson from the Hope Not Hate group, which campaigns against racism and fascism, told Yahoo News UK: "Douglas Murray’s comment is serious minimisation of the abhorrent, planned nature of the Holocaust.
"Saying that Germany 'mucked up' trivialises and minimises the fact that the Nazis systematically murdered six million Jews during the Holocaust."
Commenting on a tweet containing Murray's comments posted by National Conservatism, author and political journalist Ian Dunt wrote: "It's really hard to even start to comprehend the degree of stupidity and ignorance in this tweet."
David Henig, director of the UK trade policy project at the European Centre for International Political Economy (Ecipe), tweeted: "Words can't express the utter contempt I feel for Douglas Murray in suggesting the Holocaust of six million and sparking a destructive war was 'mucked up'."
Yahoo News UK has approached Murray and National Conservatism for comment.
The conference featured speeches on Monday from Braverman and Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, both of whom were interrupted by heckling protesters from Extinction Rebellion.
Braverman had barely begun speaking when a man in the middle row stood up and identified himself as a member of the environment movement.
He was quickly bundled out of the conference hall by security as he called out questions at Braverman.
Moments later, a woman stood up and started asking the home secretary questions before she too was hauled out.
Shortly after Rees-Mogg started his speech, a man joined him at the lectern and told the audience: “I would like to draw your attention to a few characteristics of fascism.”
The protester was then bundled off the stage.
Watch: Protesters interrupt Suella Braverman's immigration speech
