Finance Minister apologises for comments about Romanies and Lety camp

Finance Minister Andrej Babiš has apologized for comments made on Thursday related to the former work camp in Lety, South Bohemia, where many Czech Romanies were interned during World War II. Several hundred people died at the site as the result of disease, while hundreds were sent to Auschwitz. The news site aktualne.cz reported the minister had said that only Romanies who hadn’t wanted to work were sent there. Mr Babiš has since said his words were taken out of context and apologized “if he had caused offence”. A number of Czech politicians, including the Minister for Human Rights Jiří Dienstbier, have called for the finance minister to step down.