A Merseyside councillor sparked outrage when he compared the treatment of a town by the local authority to an attack by Hitler's Nazi forces.
Knowsley Liberal Democrat councillor Ian Smith made the bizarre comments last night during a heated budget meeting.
He made a reference to the Luftwaffe when talking about the current state of Prescot, a town he represents part of.
When asked by lord mayor Jackie Harris to apologise to cabinet member Jayne Aston, who was speaking on the budget at the time, councillor Smith said: "This council made a better job of Prescot town centre than the Luftwaffe could ever have done."
The Luftwaffe was the air arm of Germany's armed forces from 1933 to 1946.
It was responsible for major bombing campaigns across Europe during the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War.
Air bombing by all sides during the Second World War resulted in the deaths of thousands of civilians and the destruction of large swathes of towns and cities across Europe.
Labour councillors were furious at the comment and demanded numerous times that councillor Smith apologise.
Councillor Smith did not speak again at the meeting and did not apologise.
Prescot , along with other towns in Knowsley , has been the focus of regeneration attempts by both the council and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.
Construction on the Shakespeare North Playhouse, due to open in 2022, is currently underway in the town.
The meeting eventually saw Labour's budget passed with the support of the Greens.
It means Council Tax will rise by 3.99% for residents in Knowsley , with the council promising £14m more investment in what councillor Aston called "the most positive budget in a decade".
Labour is planning increases in spending on areas including helping vulnerable residents and improving town centres
Both the Lib Dems and Greens put forward amendments to the budget, with both parties calling for the rise in council tax to be kept to the 2% allocated to fund adult social care.
They had also proposed changes in the way the budget was allocated between departments and programmes.
Both amendments were defeated, with the original Labour budget passing.
