Student’s tweet sparks political row

AN Oldham student is at the centre of a political row after he tweeted that he saw MP Aidan Burley behaving disrespectfully during a trip to Aushwitz.

Matt Parkinson of Oldham Sixth-Form College tweeted that the Conservative — sacked as a parliamentary private secretary after pictures were printed of him at a Nazi stag party — was “texting and dozing” during a talk given by a Holocaust survivor.

Mr Burley apologised after the Nazi incident and said he would go to Aushwitz to learn about the atrocities. Mr Parkinson was there at the same time, on a college trip.

The issue was raised in the House of Commons by MP Ian Austins but he was told it was a matter for the party, not for the Government.

James Smith, chairman of the Holocaust centre, said he was sitting next to Mr Burley and while he did respond to a text, he would have noticed if the MP had been asleep.