British Publisher Attacks Germans in Vicious Tirade

In an apparent case of extreme professional jealousy, British tabloid mogul Richard Desmond, known for his explosive temper, hurled anti-German abuse in a meeting with executives from the British conservative newspaper Telegraph on Thursday. The outburst was apparently prompted by reports that German media giant Axel Springer might buy the Telegraph. Desmond dropped out of the bidding last month.

Desmond, who owns the Daily and Sunday Express and who made his fortune through pornographic magazines, allegedly opened the meeting by speaking in mockingly bad German before saying Germans were "all Nazis" and asking the Telegraph executives whether they felt like being taken over by Nazis.

Desmond then strutted up and down the room, holding his fingers to his lips to mimic a Hitler-style moustache and giving stiff-armed salutes in an imitation of John Cleese's famous goosestepping scene in British TV sitcom Fawlty Towers. After the shocked Telegraph staff filed out, Desmond urged his executives to sing "Deutschland über alles", which they promptly did.

The incident, predictably has triggered outrage and anger in Germany. Business daily Financial Times Deutschland headlined its story, "Nazi insult overshadows Telegraph sale", while German TV news show Tageschau said, "This British publisher insults all Germans by calling them Nazis."

The British government has reacted swiftly to head off anger in Germany over Richard Desmond's Nazi slur. In a statement issued by the British embassy in Berlin, the Europe minister Denis MacShane said, "Mr Desmond's comments should be dismissed with the contempt they deserve. This kind of racism against Germans is utterly repugnant to decent British people."

Desmond's anti-German tirade is likely to have unpleasant consequences for him. His €140 million acquisition of the Express group in 2000 was bankrolled by Germany's Commerzbank.