A Plaid Cymru peer sparked controversy yesterday by comparing jobs on Trident atomic missiles to those created by Auschwitz — a day after Holocaust Memorial Day.

Dafydd Wigley’s comments, made on Radio 4 in response to reports that Trident could be relocated to Wales, were labelled “crass” and “offensive.”

Asked whether the mooted move would bring a jobs boost, he replied: “No doubt there were many jobs provided in Auschwitz and places like that but that didn’t justify their existence and neither do nuclear weapons justify having them in Pembrokeshire.”

Challenged over the comparison, Mr Wigley added: “The number of people that will be killed by Trident will be infinitely more.”

His comment came after Tuesday’s Holocaust memorial at Auschwitz, which saw 300 survivors return to the site of the nazi death camp to mark 70 years since its liberation by the Red Army.

The lord later said he was sorry if his remarks were “open to any misinterpretation” and apologised “for any offence that has been caused.”

But Tory Wales Secretary David Jones called it a “mealy-mouthed” apology.

Scottish First Minister and nationalist ally Nicola Sturgeon also distanced herself from his comments despite her staunch opposition to Trident.

“It is not language I would use. It is not a comparison I would make,” she said.

Prominent peace activist Symon Hill was among the few people to leap to Mr Wigley’s defence.

“It’s Trident that’s the scandal, not Dafydd Wigley’s comments! Trident is designed to kill millions of innocent people,” he wrote on Twitter.

The row was sparked by reports in the Scottish Daily Mail that Tory ministers had drawn up secret plans to move Trident to Pembrokeshire in west Wales.

First Minister Carwyn Jones has stated that nuclear subs are “more than welcome” in Welsh waters.

But CND Cymru national secretary Jill Gough called the idea “bonkers.”

She told the Star: “The proposed site is next to a gas depot and an oil refinery, which would make it very dangerous. There is high unemployment in the area but local people aren’t going to be the ones getting highly skilled, well-paid jobs.”

A Downing Street spokesman said that there were “no plans whatsoever” to relocate Trident.

Comment: CND leader Kate Hudson

When First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones first commented that Britain’s nuclear-armed submarines would be “more than welcome” in Wales if they were kicked out of Scotland he was met with derision by the people of Wales and across Britain.

Jones quickly backpeddled, describing the statement as “entirely academic” when he realised not only the strength of Welsh opposition to nuclear weapons, but also that his economic case for “welcoming” Trident had more holes than Swiss cheese.

The job losses entailed in closing down facilities in Milford Haven to make way for Trident would far outstrip the jobs brought to the country.

The Ministry of Defence knows this full well, but apparently it’s now reviewing its own homework to try to find a different answer.

People in Wales and across Britain don’t want £100 billion poured into the black hole of nuclear weapons spending.