Cameron under fire after branding Government-funded Auschwitz trips 'a gimmick'

13 April 2012

Pressure was piling on David Cameron last night to apologise for a Tory party Press release that described school trips to Auschwitz as a "Gordon Brown gimmick".

Senior figures from the Jewish community expressed dismay after the attempt by the Conservative leader to attack the Prime Minister spectacularly backfired.

Tory headquarters was besieged last night as Mr Cameron's office refused to back down over the blunder and claimed instead that his character was being smeared by Labour.

But he came under pressure from within his party when Sir John Butterfill, a Tory MP on the executive of Conservative Friends of Israel, called on him to "clarify" his position.

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Privately Conservative MPs expressed surprise that the party's spin machine had allowed such a "clanger" to be issued in the leader's name.

One said: "This is staggeringly misjudged. I can't believe they let this one through. It's obviously a mistake."

The row capped a difficult week for the Tory leader after two polls yesterday showed growing public scepticism over his response to the Northern Rock crisis.

It broke out after a list of 26 "gimmicks" by Mr Brown was issued by the Tories as background to a highly critical speech in which Mr Cameron compared the Prime Minister to Stalin.

He claimed that the Government had made a number of announcements since last summer that failed to live up to their billing. Mr Cameron singled out Mr Brown's surprise move on inheritance students will visit Auschwitz under the scheme in the next three years tax and steps to protect public places against terrorism.

The list issued in his name went on to include "Trips to Auschwitz".

This was a reference to the Prime Minister's support for the respected programme of educational tours that give schoolchildren a chance to visit the most notorious Nazi death camp.

Mr Cameron made no direct reference to Auschwitz in his speech, but singled out "trips to Poland" - where Auschwitz is.

Westminster observers warned that the gimmick attack risked drawing attention to Mr Cameron's own record of media stunts, including putting a wind turbine on his house and cycling to work with his official car following.

His dismissal of announcements such as Mr Brown's surprise concession on death duties last autumn, in the face a similar move by the Tories, could be seen as trivialising a major policy issue.

But the Tory leader's aides responded furiously, claiming it was "a smear on David's character to suggest he believes trips to Auschwitz are a gimmick".

A Conservative spokesman said: "David Cameron's speech sets out very clearly the context of his argument. School trips to Auschwitz are a brilliant idea. However, by announcing these trips without providing the necessary funding the Government has - in classic fashion - hidden the detail in the small print.

"Under a Conservative government, these trips would be funded in full and schools would not have to find £100 per pupil from their budgets."

Last night it emerged that Mr Cameron has been asked to urge schools in his constituency to take part in the programme run by the Holocaust Educational Trust.

The chairman of the trust, Lord Janner of Braunstone, led criticisms of Mr Cameron, saying: "The idea of calling trips to Auschwitz a gimmick is quite extraordinary. It's an all-party effort.

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Two pupils from every school will visit Auschwitz then teach their peers about the experience

"The flight that went this week had a group of Conservative MPs on it.

"It's certainly a very hurtful and offensive statement for the Jewish community and I am sure that Mr Cameron already regrets it. It's a low form of politics to include trips to Auschwitz as a gimmick."

Sir John Butterfill said: "I am sure that David Cameron would not argue that going to Auschwitz is a gimmick. He may question Gordon Brown's motivation. Let us hope this is properly clarified."

Henry Grunwald QC, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said: "We are surprised and disappointed that David Cameron should in any way have used the word "gimmick" in connection with visits to Auschwitz.

"MPs of all parties have supported these visits and understand their importance and we are grateful to Gordon Brown and the Government for having made funding available to enable two sixth formers from every secondary school to participate."

Schools Secretary Ed Balls called on Mr Cameron to apologise for his "truly disgraceful remark".

He said he had made £4.65million of funding available over the next three years to help schools pay for visits, although the Tories last night claimed this only applied in England.

"In trying to make this issue into a matter of party politics, David Cameron has shown once again that he not only lacks judgement but also a basic sense of decency," he added.

The trust's "Lessons From Auschwitz' programme takes up to 200 students a time to Poland. The pupils hear from a death camp survivor and are expected to describe their experiences to other students when they get back.

"The cost is an average £350 per pupil, although schools are asked to contribute £100 towards each.

Denis MacShane, a former chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group Against Anti-Semitism, described the Conservative attack as a "colossal misjudgement".

"To describe this as a gimmick says a lot about the Cameron clique who control today's Tory Party," the former Europe minister added.

But former Tory minister Lord Hunt of Wirral, vice-president of the trust, defended Mr Cameron. He said there had been private concern over the Government's funding.

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