Bernie Ecclestone, the Formula 1 chief, was last night accused of spouting ‘demented drivel’ after praising Hitler for ‘getting things done’.
In an outspoken interview, the 78-year-old billionaire, who has been a key figure in motor racing since the Seventies, said he preferred totalitarian regimes to democracies.
He also suggested his close friend Max Mosley – president of the Federation International de l’Automobile – would make a good Prime Minister.
Mr Mosley, the son of wartime fascist leader Sir Oswald Mosley, was recently accused by F1 racing teams of acting like a ‘dictator’ and was last year embroiled in a scandal involving prostitutes.
Mr Ecclestone told The Times: ‘In a lot of ways, terrible to say this I suppose, but apart from the fact that Hitler got taken away and persuaded to do things that I have no idea whether he wanted to do or not, he was in the way that he could command a lot of people, able to get things done.’
The comments provoked outrage. Liberal Democrat sport spokesman Don Foster said: ‘They are incredibly offensive. To give credit to Adolf Hitler shows how out of touch he is. This sounds like the ravings of a demented lunatic.’
Tory John Whittingdale, chairman of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee, added: ‘These are extraordinary views and I’m appalled that anybody could hold them.’
Ecclestone last night provoked outrage by praising the policies of Hitler in an extraordinary interview.
The 78-year-old billionaire criticised modern politicians as ‘weak’ and praised the former Nazi leader’s ability to ‘get things done’.
His comments provoked furious reaction from politicians and Jewish groups.
July 5th, 2009 at 9:21 am
He certainly did.