Former neo-Nazi elected to local council in England

(JTA) — A former neo-Nazi who once daubed buildings with swastikas has been elected to a local council in south central England, the London Jewish Chronicle reported.

Margaret Burke won a seat on Milton Keynes Council earlier this month after demonstrating her remorse to local Labor Party officials and describing her earlier activities as those of a “brainwashed idiot.”

During the 1980s, Burke ran a pro-Hitler organization with her husband. She wore Nazi-style uniforms and organized racist leafleting.

After the couple divorced, Burke joined the Animal Liberation Front and was jailed for vandalising a butcher’s shop.

She told the Milton Keynes Citizen that she regretted her actions and had dedicated herself to working for the community to make amends.

Milton Keynes Labour leader Kevin Wilson said the candidate selection panel had been aware of Burke’s past and had “questioned her at length.” He called her post-Nazi behavior “exemplary” and said it would have been “wholly wrong to deny her the possibility of being a candidate.”

Don’t miss out! Get the JTA Daily Briefing delivered FREE to your inbox!

Click to login and write a letter to the editor.