‘Joke’ about turning Scots into slaves.

A Tory MP had to apologise after coming under fire for making a sick joke in the House of Commons about Scots being sold into slavery.

During a debate on Thursday, the new Tory MP for South East Cambridgeshire, Lucy Frazer, laughed about how Oliver Cromwell defeated the Scots at Dunbar and sent them as “slaves to the colonies” which had her fellow Tories guffawing and chortling with joy.

Some facts on said event from Education Scotland.

The Scots Presbyterian Covenanters proclaimed Charles II king. Cromwell responded by leading part of the New Model Army north to fight the Scots.

The Scots Covenanters, under David Leslie, suffered a crushing defeat at the Battle of Dunbar. After the battle, around 5000 Scots captives were marched south for over 100 miles. Many died of starvation and disease on the way to Durham Castle and Cathedral where the survivors were imprisoned. Around 1600 more Scots prisoners died in Durham in the winter of 1650. Their bodies were dumped in mass graves. Of the 5000 Covenanters that were marched south – only 1200 survived. Most were sold as slaves in America and the Caribbean. Some were forced to fight for Cromwell in France.