A RIGHT-WING Tory MP filmed at a Nazi-themed stag party was backtracking today after branding the triumphant Olympic opening ceremony “leftie multicultural crap”.
Aidan Burley insisted he has been misunderstood after his comments sparked uproar.
The controversial MP, who was forced to quit as a ministerial aide after attending the ski resort bash last year, posted his barbs on Twitter during the event last night.
Today London's Conservative mayor Boris Johnson blasted Burley's tweets as "nonsense".
Burley tweeted: “The most leftie opening ceremony I have ever seen - more than Beijing, the capital of a communist state! Welfare tribute next?”
Shortly afterwards he added: “Thank God the athletes have arrived! Now we can move on from leftie multicultural crap. Bring back red arrows (sic), Shakespeare and the Stones!”
The tweets caused an avalanche of criticism on the social networking site, including from fellow Conservative Gavin Barwell.
“@AidanBurleyMP with respect, us Londoners are rather proud of the diversity of our city #nothingleftwingaboutit,” the Croydon MP posted.
Downing Street moved quickly to distance Prime Minister David Cameron from Burley's attack, with a senior source saying simply: “We do not agree with him.”
The MP could also be facing a fight to keep hold of his Staffordshire seat after former footballer Stan Collymore, who hails from the area, angrily replied: “I’ll happily stand against you at the next election. You have no clue about our town or its people.”
Mr Burley was touted as a rising Tory star when he won Cannock Chase in 2010 with a huge swing from Labour.
Sensational ... fireworks at last night's ceremony
However, he lost his job as a parliamentary private secretary when details emerged of a stag do he attended in Val Thorens last December.
One guest was alleged to have dressed in an SS uniform while others were said to have chanted Nazi slogans.
Mr Burley has repeatedly apologised for being present at the event, which is being investigated by French police, but denied behaving badly himself or breaking the law.
Early today the MP sought to placate anger over his Olympics remarks, posting the message: “Seems my tweet has been misunderstood.
"I was talking about the way it was handled in the show, not multiculturalism itself.”
Mr Johnson today slapped down Burley describing the event in the Olympic Stadium, watched by a global audience of around one billion, as a triumph for Great Britain.
London's Mayor said: “It wasn’t global ’Brito-pap’. It wasn’t just Big Ben and Beefeaters and red buses and stuff. It was actually the truth about this country in the last two or three hundred years told in a big, dynamic way.
“People say it was all leftie stuff. That is nonsense. I’m a Conservative and I had hot tears of patriotic pride from the beginning. I was blubbing like Andy Murray.”
Labour MP David Winnick said: “I would have thought that the general reaction in Government and amongst senior ministers is that a period of silence on Mr Burley’s part would be much appreciated.
“The fact of the matter is that his comments were totally inane, anti-British and at variance with the feeling of millions of people up and down the country over the success of last night’s opening.
“A great number of people in Cannock, including many who voted for him, will be wishing they had a different MP.”
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