Stephen Fry apologises to Poland

Comic actor Stephen Fry has apologised for comments he made which implied Poles were to blame for the atrocities at Auschwitz.

Earlier this month, Mr Fry appeared on Channel 4 News to speak about his objection to the Conservative party’s ties with Poland’s Law and Justice party.

During the interview he said: “There has been a history, let's face it, in Poland, of a right-wing Catholicism which has been deeply disturbing for those of us who know a little history and remember which side of the border Auschwitz was on, and know the stories, and know much of the antisemitic and homophobic and nationalistic elements in countries like Poland.”

The comments were met with outrage by the Polish Embassy in London which said Mr Fry's remarks were “defamatory”.

On his personal blog today, Mr Fry wrote: “Words tumbled from my lips during that interview that were as idiotic, ignorant and offensive as you could imagine.

“I mean, what was I thinking? Well, as I say, I wasn’t. The words just formed themselves in a line in my head, as words will, and marched out of the mouth. I offer no excuse.

“I seemed to imply that the Polish people had been responsible for the most infamous of all the death factories of the Third Reich.

“It was a rubbishy, cheap and offensive remark that I have been regretting ever since.

“I take this opportunity to apologise now. I said a stupid, thoughtless and fatuous thing.”