"Former Lord Mayor of Liverpool refuses to apologise after comparing Sandhills to Auschwitz
Metro Mayor and Liverpool Council chief call for two senior Liberal Democrats to be suspended for their comments at a planning meeting

A former Lord Mayor of Liverpool has refused to apologise after comparing the matchday queuing system at a city train station to a concentration camp. Cllr Richard Kemp has refused to back down amid condemnation of his remarks around Sandhills station and Auschwitz.


During a discussion on the expansion of a queuing area at the station for fans travelling to and from Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium on matchdays, the veteran Liberal Democrat councillor said the current arrangement risked treating fans “like cattle.” He added how the lanes were “like the greeting area for Auschwitz"

He now faces calls to be suspended alongside Liberal Democrat colleague Cllr Pat Moloney who said the corralling zones and sterile areas proposed for staff and fans was “like something out of a horrific death camp in Nazi Germany.” Cllr Kemp told the ECHO he stood by his assessment while Cllr Moloney said he would apologise if he had caused offence.

During a debate in yesterday’s Liverpool Council planning committee, which would have led to an extension of the existing queuing area, Cllr Kemp was critical of the time it had taken for improvements to be made at Sandhills. He said: “It’s now nine years since the passenger transport authority knew there was going to be a new stadium.


“Last year you introduced something which the Mayor (Steve Rotheram) announced as pens, which to me were like the greeting area for Auschwitz. Absolutely disgraceful.”

Cllr Moloney asked Merseyrail representatives: “Why didn’t you get this right the first time, because this is a major change?” He added: “The language is appalling and dehumanising; a corralling area, a sterile zone, this is human beings we’re talking about here.


“This is like something out of a horrific death camp in Nazi Germany. Really, this just amazes me.”


The comments were condemned by Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram and Cllr Liam Robinson, leader of the Labour group and city council. They have written to Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, calling for both councillors to be suspended pending investigation"

In their letter, the two men said: “We respectfully ask: what is going on here?” They added: “You have visited Auschwitz yourself and will know better than most why comparisons of this kind are so offensive and ill-judged.

“We have attached the planning drawings relating to the application. We will leave it to you to form your own judgement on whether such a comparison is remotely appropriate.

“Following Councillor Moloney’s reported remarks, we have been contacted by members of the Jewish community who expressed deep upset at the language that had been used. News that a second Liberal Democrat member of the same planning committee appears to have drawn a similar comparison will only deepen that distress"
The Labour leaders said they were of the view “this kind of hyperbole has no place in public discourse.” The letter added: “The men, women and children who perished at Auschwitz were victims of one of the worst crimes in human history.

“There is no meaningful comparison between their suffering and football supporters travelling home from a match. The fact that two members of the same planning committee appear to have made such remarks during the same discussion raises concerns that go beyond an isolated lapse of judgement by a single individual.”

Cllr Kemp took a combative stance in his response to the letter and took aim at the Labour figures. He said: “It’s simple, Steve Rotheram and Liam Robinson are covering up their own incompetence. They’ve had eight years to provide safe conditions for fans to get to and from the station and they have failed totally to do that not only at Sandhills but all the other arrangements; parking, taxis, disabled people being able to get near the gates.

“There’s a whole raft of problems they were preparing for and they have failed to do this.” Cllr Kemp added how it was now likely the proposed changes to Sandhills would now be in place for Everton’s third season at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Asked if he would retract his comment about Auschwitz or apologise, the former Lord Mayor said: “The way they (Merseyrail officials) are talking about Evertonians and fans is absolutely disgraceful and therefore the description I made is apt. They (Mr Rotheram and Cllr Robinson) are trying to cover their own incompetence.”


Asked by the ECHO for his response, Cllr Moloney said: “If you remember the discussion, Richard Kemp talked in similar terms and I was following on from that and I stand by that. The language used was about corralling, the whole concept seemed to be humanising.

“I’m surprised they haven’t apologised for the way they talked about people. I’m disappointed they haven’t taken the point on board.

“I would say perhaps if I’ve gone too far and if I’ve offended anyone I apologise for that but the language and the attitude of it, I stand by that.”