Ian Austin has welcomed the news that Aidan Burley has finally been sacked but called on the Conservative MP to apologise to people in Cannock offended by his participation in a party at which guests toasted the Third Reich and chanted “Hitler, Hitler, Hitler”.

Austin also said Mr Burley should provide all the details about his involvement in the stag party after the Mail on Sunday reported that “evidence emerged Mr Burley had hired the Nazi costume” and reiterated his call on the Conservative Party to investigate the matter properly and publish all the findings.

Austin – who raised the scandal three times in the Commons last week and demanded the Prime Minister and Conservative Party Chair investigate the matter properly – said:

“I’m pleased that after a week of dithering the Prime Minister has finally acted, but Mr Burley has not yet apologised properly to the people who put their trust in him in Cannock.

“It is absolutely right that he’s written a letter to the Jewish Chronicle to apologise to the Jewish community, but the offence he caused will be felt by decent people much more widely and so he should apologise to people in Cannock and elsewhere too.

“Britain’s role in the Second World War, standing alone, a beacon of democracy and freedom against Hitler and the Nazis, is our country’s finest hour. It is why we can claim that Britain has a unique attachment to the values of democracy and freedom. Toasting the Third Reich and chanting in praise of Hitler shames the nation as a whole and undermines what it means to be British.

“The offence will naturally be felt particularly acutely by the Jewish community affected by the Holocaust, but it is an insult to everyone who fought for Britain and so he should apologise to them and the people he has offended in Cannock and elsewhere.”