Jacob Rees-Mogg has defended his decision to tweet a video of a speech by a senior member of Germany’s far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), saying he did not endorse the party’s views but the opinions expressed had “real importance”.

The Conservative backbencher and leading Brexiter faced strong criticism from some Labour MPs after tweeting a YouTube video of a speech by Alice Weidel, the leader of the AfD’s 91 deputies in the Bundestag, the German parliament.

Rees-Mogg added the message: “The AfD leader asks: ‘Is it any wonder the British see bad faith behind every manoeuvre from Brussels?’”

While the AfD began as an anti-euro campaign force, it has shifted its focus to immigration and Islam. Last year, an AfD poster for elections in Bavaria showed light-skinned teenagers running down a corridor with the slogan: “Islam-free schools”.

The Labour MP David Lammy said Rees-Mogg was “promoting Germany’s overtly racist party”.

He tweeted: “Our country’s proudest moment was defeating the far right. Now we are supposed to sit back while xenophobes, nativists, nationalists and isolationists do their best to tear Europe apart again. We must not let them win.”

His Labour colleague Stella Creasy tweeted: “We have to deal with the AfD on the Council of Europe. One of their reps claims that ‘Muslims in Europe are seeking to kill all Germans’. So forgive us @ Jacob_Rees_Mogg if don’t use them as you do as a metric for decent opinions by which we should be influenced.”

Asked about the criticism during a phone-in on LBC radio, Rees-Mogg said he was not endorsing the party.

“No, no, I’m not supporting the AfD,” he said. “But this is a speech made in the Bundestag of real importance because it shows a German view of Brexit and it’s saying to the Germans: ‘Look, you’re paying for this, you’re going to pay more for this’, and Angela Merkel has tied herself up in knots with the French to the disadvantage of the Germans.

“And I think it’s important people know this is a strand of German political thinking. I don’t think retweeting is an endorsement of things that other people stand for. It’s just pointing out that there’s something interesting that is worth watching.”

Alice Weidel speaking in the Bundestag. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

In the speech, Weidel said the German chancellor was partly responsible for Brexit by showing too little flexibility when David Cameron was trying to reform the EU, and said Merkel should help the UK stay in the single market.

The clip tweeted by Rees-Mogg came from a YouTube channel that specialises in material from far-right European politicians, such as the French National Rally politician Marion Maréchal and Italy’s deputy prime minister, Matteo Salvini. Other videos on the channel condemn feminism and criticise the BBC for promoting racial diversity.

