An Oxford hotelier has issued a statement apologising for linking the Holocaust with Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs).

Jeremy Mogford, the owner of Old Bank Hotel in High Street and Old Parsonage Hotel in Banbury Road, has admitted he was guilty of “over-dramatising” the cause of Oxford’s traffic filters after he compared Oxfordshire County Councillor Andrew Gant to Josef Mengele.

Mengele was a German SS officer who performed deadly experiments on prisoners in Auschwitz II and was known as the Angel of Death.

The apology comes after Mr Mogford sent an email to councillors about Mr Gant, in which he likened the LTNs to the Holocaust.

READ MORE: Oxford hotel boss Jeremy Mogford compares LTNs to Holocaust

Mr Mogford wrote: “This man Gant, along with his associates, are the Mengele equivalent……Experimenting with people (our city), without knowing what the consequences might be, which could and probably will be terminal.”

The email was sent to resident Peter West at 8.45pm on Tuesday evening (February 14) and councillors were copied in alongside MP Anneliese Dodds.

Mr Mogford’s statement today stated: “I would like to apologise for my statement made to and about Mr Gant and his associates, comparing the aforementioned to Mengele, whom I have, and always will totally condemn.

I have spoken with Mr Gant to reiterate my sincere apology and over-dramatization of the cause that we find ourselves on either side of – Oxford’s traffic filters.

“I also wish to make known that my regret and sincere apology extend to those who may have been negatively affected and hurt by my remarks, which showed a complete lack of sensitivity toward the Holocaust.

“I will do better.”

On Friday, Mr Mogford admitted he sent the message in “error” and apologised for “any offence caused" when quizzed by the Oxford Mail.

Andrew Gant, cabinet member for highway management, branded hotelier Jeremy Mogford’s comments about him over email as “not acceptable”, after he was compared by Mogford to Josef Mengele.

Mr Gant did not want to comment further on the matter.

MP Anneliese Dodds said she is not commenting on the matter.

READ MORE: Anti-LTN and 'climate lockdown' protest brings thousands to Oxford

On Saturday, former Green councillor Elise Benjamin, who became Oxford’s first Jewish Lord Mayor in 2011, said: “I’m still struggling to articulate it because it’s so deeply upsetting and offensive.

“To make a comparison between traffic congestion reduction measures and a man who conducted experiments on children as part of a mass genocide, I struggle to understand how anyone in their right mind can think that is an appropriate comparison.”

LTNs were introduced in the Divinity Road, St Clement's and St Mary's areas of Oxford in May as part of a six-month trial.

Thousands attended a protest in Oxford city centre on Saturday 18 February to protest against the LTNs and other traffic reduction measures.

Thames Valley Police have estimated around 2,000 people were involved.

The protest saw celebrities such as Lawrence Fox speak and conspiracy theorist and activist Piers Corbyn was in attendance.