A BRITISH MEMBER of the European Parliament was suspended from the chamber yesterday after roaring Nazi slogans at a German member during a debate on Ireland’s economic crisis.

Godfrey Bloom, of the fiercely nationalist UK Independence Party, interrupted the speech of Martin Schulz to shout the words, “Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer” [one people, one nation, one leader] – a slogan regularly used by the Nazi party under the leadership of Adolf Hitler.

As other members of the parliament jeered loudly at Bloom, the BBC reports, parliament president Jerzy Buzek demanded a retraction on the slogan and an apology for the slur.

The UKIP MEP refused to relent, however, insisting that Schulz was “an undemocratic fascist”, and continued with references to Spitfire planes (used by the Royal Air Force during the Second World War) and the Nazi goose-step march.

As a result, Buzek asked Bloom to leave the chamber, as colleagues chanted, “Out, out, out”. 20 other members left the chamber in solidarity, though others demanded “severe sanction”.

Outside the chamber, the Daily Mail reports, Bloom said that his father was a Spitfire pilot and had “fought for freedom against Nazi domination of Europe.

“As an MEP, I will fight against the destruction of democracy across Europe”, he went on, saying that Schulz was seeking a singular EU state.

The Guardian adds that Schulz, a social democrat who leads the socialist grouping in the parliament, was previously described as a “perfect” Nazi prison guard by Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Schulz insisted the insult was “unworthy”. Bloom’s jibes had interrupted his speech calling on European solidarity to help deal with Ireland’s debt crisis.