A Jewish MP has refused to apologise for saying that she hopes football fans making Nazi salutes get “their heads kicked in”.

Charlotte Nichols, the newly-elected Labour MP for Warrington North, defending her stance saying:

As a Jewish person whose grandfather fought in World War 2, ultimately sometimes I believe that fascism has to be physically confronted.

In October this year, Nichols tweeted “I hope every single one of them gets their heads kicked in by the good folk of Glasgow” in reference to a video showing SS Lazio fans making Nazi salutes and chanting fascist songs in the Scottish city.

And when questioned by BBC political reporter Phil McCann, who posted to the interview on Twitter, Nichols didn’t back down.

“Sometimes I believe that fascism has to be physically confronted and I’m not going to apologise for that,” she said.

In the comments, lots of people agreed with Nichols.

Nichols’ answers add to the debate about whether it is morally acceptable to fight fascism with violence – a discussion that was stoked after alt-right leader Richard Spencer was punched two years ago.