An MP representing the Scottish National Party has sparked outrage after appearing to compare the UK government to Hitler’s Nazi party. 

Peter Grant, the MP for Glenrothes and Central Fife, wrote on social media that the Nazis only showed their “true colours” after being in power for “several years”.  

He made the comment, which has since been deleted, in response to the journalist Andrew Neil, who suggested the word ‘fascism’ is often unjustifiably used to describe the government and its policies. 

Mr Neil shared content on Twitter from the official Auschwitz Museum account, alongside the statement: “As accusations of fascism are bandied about today like confetti by the ignorant, ludicrously devaluing the word of any meaning, a reminder of what real fascism can do. And of its unconscionable evil.”

Mr Grant then replied that murdering babies was not included on the Nazi manifesto and that the Nazi’s only showed their “true colours” after several years of stoking up “fear and hatred”. 

Mr Grant said: “Murdering babies wasn’t on the Nazi manifesto. Not until they’d been in power several years and had stoked up fear and hatred against innocent citizens. Then, only then, did they show their true colours.”

Responding to Mr Grant’s tweet, JC columnist and associate editor of The Times, Daniel Finkelstein, said: “This offensive tweet doesn’t even have the merit of being true. Hitler and the Nazis were already talking openly of the need to kill babies in 1929. Would you consider deleting this tweet Mr Grant? We all make mistakes (I know I do) and you can fix this one.”

The Board of Deputies also issued a statement condemning the remark.

President Marie van der Zyl said: “We are disturbed by the suggestion from some MPs that Nazism only gradually revealed its true aims. 

“In reality, Hitler was always open about his aims – in 1925, well before the Nazis came to power, he had already written in Mein Kampf about the need to ‘exterminate… the international poisoners of our people’ and how thousands of Jews should have been ‘subjected to poison gas’.

“The overwhelming majority of comparisons to the Nazis are extremely inappropriate, and we would urge people – particularly Parliamentarians – to choose their words with far more care.” 

Hours after tweeting the comments, Mr Grant deleted his post.

In a new tweet he said: “I want to apologise unreservedly for a highly insensitive tweet I posted. 

“While I strongly believe we must always be vigilant to the seeds of racism, antisemitism and fascism, I deeply regret how I made that point and I have deleted the tweet.”