A Tory MP insisted today that he had been misunderstood after sparking a major backlash by branding the Olympic opening ceremony "leftie multicultural crap".
Aidan Burley, who was forced to quit as a ministerial aide after attending a Nazi-themed stag do last year , delivered the barbs on Twitter during the event last night.
One post read: "The most leftie opening ceremony I have ever seen - more than Beijing, the capital of a communist state! Welfare tribute next?"
Shortly afterwards he added: "Thank GHod the athletes have arrived! Now we can move on from leftie multicultural crap. Bring back red arrows (sic), Shakespeare and the Stones!"
The tweets caused an avalanche of criticism on the social networking site, including from fellow Conservative Gavin Barwell.
"AidanBurleyMP with respect, us Londoners are rather proud of the diversity of our city £nothingleftwingaboutit," the Croydon MP posted.
Downing Street moved quickly to distance Prime Minister David Cameron from the comments, with a senior source saying simply: "We do not agree with him."
The Cannock Chase MP could also be facing a fight to keep hold of his seat after former footballer Stan Collymore, who hails from the area, angrily replied: "I'll happily stand against you at the next election. You have no clue about our town or its people."
Mr Burley was touted as a rising Tory star when he won Cannock Chase in 2010 with a huge swing from Labour.
However, he lost his job as a parliamentary private secretary when details emerged of a stag do he attended in the skiing resort of Val Thorens last December.
One guest was alleged to have dressed in an SS uniform while others were said to have chanted Nazi slogans.
Mr Burley has repeatedly apologised for being present at the event, which is being investigated by French police, but denied behaving badly himself or breaking the law.
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In the early hours of this morning, the MP sought to placate anger over his Olympics remarks, posting the message: "Seems my tweet has been misunderstood. I was talking about the way it was handled in the show, not multiculturalism itself."
The opening ceremony, in which the Queen had a starring role, featured a diverse cast including James Bond star Daniel Craig and writer JK Rowling, merging music, dance and special effects into a spectacular opening
The worldwide audience was treated to a greatest hits medley of British pop over the decades with bursts of the Beatles, the Jam, Sex Pistols and Dizzee Rascal.
There were also excerpts from the Kinks, Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Mud's Tiger Feet before Emeli Sande sang the cup final classic Abide With Me.
Labour MP David Winnick said: "I would have thought that the general reaction in Government and amongst senior ministers is that a period of silence on Mr Burley's part would be much appreciated.
"The fact of the matter is that his comments were totally inane, anti-British and at variance with the feeling of millions of people up and down the country over the success of last night's opening.
"A great number of people in Cannock, including many who voted for him, will be wishing they had a different MP."
Mr Burley told the BBC that he agreed multiculturalism "should be celebrated".
"I wasn't having a go at multiculturalism itself, I was having a go at the rather trite way, frankly, it was represented in the opening ceremony," he said.
He admitted his tweets might not help his career but said he welcomed the debate.
"We all love the NHS but really for all the people watching overseas, 20 minutes of children and nurses jumping on beds, that seems quite strange," the MP added.
"And then we had all these rappers - that is what got me to the point about multiculturalism."