The deputy police and crime commissioner at the centre of a Nazi Twitter row resigned today.
Dr Rachel Frosh, a Tory town councillor, provoked anger from fellow users by retweeting a quote from Hitler comparing his Nazis to modern-day socialists.
The message carried a picture of the dictator who said “Dear Socialists embrace your inner Nazism” in 1927.
Dr Frosh, a GP who took up her deputy PCC post in Hertfordshire in November, retweeted the controversial post on January 31, but then deleted it.
However, she reposted it on Monday and wrote: “I took the retweet down to make it clear that it wasn’t my view because apparently someone out there thinks it was…..perils of twitter.”
She announced she was quitting her £20,000 two-day-a-week post with “great regret” and said she wanted to be free to comment on national political issues.
She said: “I recognise that I am not able to fully comment on some political issues whilst remaining as Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner.
“It is therefore with great regret that I have tendered my resignation this morning.”
On her blog, Dr Frosh tried to explain the controversial tweet.
She wrote: “First of all, I don’t remember retweeting it, and I do believe most Labour politicians to be honourable decent people who do not have any truck with the politics of hate.
“The modern Labour party bears no resemblance to the BNP or similar parties.
“However, there is an accepted mainstream view that the origins of Nazi-ism lie in Socialism, or that they have common roots.”
Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire David Lloyd, who accepted Dr Frosh’s resignation, said she had taken the “honourable course of action”.
He said: “I am sad to have to accept Rachel’s resignation.
“She has taken the honourable course of action by making this decision and I will miss her valuable contribution to my work to further improve policing and crime reductions for the public of Hertfordshire.”
