SOMERSET County Council's chief executive has responded to an attack by Bridgwater's MP over "insulting" comments about the Holocaust by insisting he had not intended to "trivialise the horror of that awful event".

This website reported earlier this week how MP Ian Liddell-Grainger had criticised Alan Jones for likening him to a "Holocaust denier" for criticising the council despite it earning a high independent rating.

Mr Liddell-Grainger said he had been left "incensed" by Mr Jones' "insulting" comments.

But Mr Jones has responded by insisting he had made the comment to illustrate a point, and no offence had been intended.

He said: "The point that I made in my article is that some people seek to portray the county council in a bad light by distorting the facts.

"In this way, some people deny that the county council has been externally and objectively assessed by the Audit Commission as an excellent four star authority. This flies in the face of the facts.

"To illustrate the point, I used two of the most extreme examples of where hard facts have been foolishly denied: namely that the earth is not round and that the Holocaust did not happen.

"In making that point I was not equating criticism of Somerset County Council to denial of the Holocaust or in any way trivialising the horror of that awful event.

"When taken in context, I would be surprised if people were to take offence at my comments, but if some have I apologise unreservedly."