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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Apology urged for Auschwitz note | Apology urged for Auschwitz note |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Labour is calling on the Conservatives to apologise over claims a party document described trips to Auschwitz concentration camp as a "gimmick". | |
| Schools Secretary Ed Balls called the comment "truly disgraceful", and Labour peer Lord Janner said the Jewish community would be "deeply hurt". | Schools Secretary Ed Balls called the comment "truly disgraceful", and Labour peer Lord Janner said the Jewish community would be "deeply hurt". |
| The reference was in briefing notes to a speech by Tory leader David Cameron. | The reference was in briefing notes to a speech by Tory leader David Cameron. |
| The Tories say they were highlighting a Labour promise of a free trip to Auschwitz which had not been delivered. | The Tories say they were highlighting a Labour promise of a free trip to Auschwitz which had not been delivered. |
| The briefing document lists 26 Labour "gimmicks" that had come to nothing. | The briefing document lists 26 Labour "gimmicks" that had come to nothing. |
| 'Party politics' | 'Party politics' |
| It says the government has promised funding for two pupils from every sixth form and college in the country to visit the Nazi concentration camp where millions of Jews were murdered during the Second World War. | It says the government has promised funding for two pupils from every sixth form and college in the country to visit the Nazi concentration camp where millions of Jews were murdered during the Second World War. |
| "To attack David Cameron for rightly including it in a list of gimmicks is really to try and make party political points out of a situation Lord Hunt | |
| But in fact, the Conservatives say, schools would have to find £100 to fund every sixth formers' trip. | But in fact, the Conservatives say, schools would have to find £100 to fund every sixth formers' trip. |
| A Conservative spokesman said: "There is no way we think that trips to Auschwitz are a gimmick. | A Conservative spokesman said: "There is no way we think that trips to Auschwitz are a gimmick. |
| "The gimmick is for the government to make an announcement without providing the means for it to happen." | "The gimmick is for the government to make an announcement without providing the means for it to happen." |
| But Mr Balls said: "Anyone who has seen the horrors of Auschwitz at first-hand knows what a life-changing experience it is. | But Mr Balls said: "Anyone who has seen the horrors of Auschwitz at first-hand knows what a life-changing experience it is. |
| "To call the announcement I made of £4.65m to fund visits by school children over the next three years a 'gimmick' just beggars belief. | "To call the announcement I made of £4.65m to fund visits by school children over the next three years a 'gimmick' just beggars belief. |
| "In trying to make this issue into a matter of party politics, David Cameron has shown once again that he not only lacks judgment but also a basic sense of decency." | "In trying to make this issue into a matter of party politics, David Cameron has shown once again that he not only lacks judgment but also a basic sense of decency." |
| In a statement, the Holocaust Educational Trust said it did not want to get involved in "party politics" over the row. | In a statement, the Holocaust Educational Trust said it did not want to get involved in "party politics" over the row. |
| 'Offended' | 'Offended' |
| It followed a call by Lord Janner, who is chairman of the HET, for Mr Cameron to retract the claim. | It followed a call by Lord Janner, who is chairman of the HET, for Mr Cameron to retract the claim. |
| He said: "The Jewish community will be deeply hurt and offended by this. | He said: "The Jewish community will be deeply hurt and offended by this. |
| "It's a low form of politics which David Cameron must already be regretting. I think it's very, very important that he apologises." | "It's a low form of politics which David Cameron must already be regretting. I think it's very, very important that he apologises." |
| In a short speech, Mr Cameron attacked Mr Brown for being "so obsessed with short-term gimmicks". | In a short speech, Mr Cameron attacked Mr Brown for being "so obsessed with short-term gimmicks". |
| "We've had a gimmick for every week that Gordon Brown has been Prime Minister," Mr Cameron said in Bolton. "It would be funny if it wasn't so serious." | "We've had a gimmick for every week that Gordon Brown has been Prime Minister," Mr Cameron said in Bolton. "It would be funny if it wasn't so serious." |
| Funding concern | |
| But Lord Hunt of Wirral, a Conservative peer and vice-president of the HET, defended Mr Cameron, saying there had been private concern over the government's funding promises. | |
| He said: "I greatly regret the Labour Party is seeking to making party political points out of what has been an all-party approach to Holocaust education and has the support of David Cameron. | |
| "I have been raising concern within the Holocaust Educational Trust because there are conditions about how much it has to raise to put alongside the government grant." | |
| He added: "To attack David Cameron for rightly including it in a list of gimmicks is really to try and make party political points out of a situation where our strength has always been the all-party support for these visits to Auschwitz which will continue under a Conservative government. | |
| "I certainly believe that a Conservative government will fund these visits in full." | |
| The HET organises one-day visits to Auschwitz followed by follow-up seminars. These are aimed at showing "what can happen if prejudice and racism become acceptable". |