Self-described 'fascist' official expelled from German far-right party for saying migrants should be gassed

The party confirmed that Christian Lueth, who was already suspended from his post as parliamentary spokesman in April after allegedly describing himself as a "fascist", had his contract terminated with immediate effect.

German media reported that Lueth told a young blogger in February that the worse off Germany is, the better it would be for his party, and that migrants coming to the country "could still be shot later on (...) or gassed".

The meeting was secretly filmed by broadcaster ProSieben for a documentary on the German far-right that was aired on Monday. The speaker's face wasn't shown in the footage but weekly Die Zeit reported that it was Lueth.

AfD has campaigned vociferously against immigration and saw a surge in support when hundreds of thousands of refugees settled Germany in 2015. It is currently the largest opposition party in the national legislature.

Lueth declined to comment, saying he planned to issue a statement on Tuesday.

AfD has come under heightened scrutiny from Germany's domestic intelligence agency amid concern that some factions are flirting with extremism, a charge the party denies.

Germany saw a spike in far-right crimes including anti-Semitic and Islamophobic attacks last year, accounting for more than half of all politically-motivated crimes.

A gunman with apparent far-right beliefs killed nine people - all migrants to Germany - at a shisha bar and a cafe in the city of Hanau in February.

Read also: Germany faces up to the dark spectre of far-right terror

On Monday, AfD's parliamentary caucus in the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg expelled lawmaker Stefan Raepple after he reportedly called for the violent overthrow of the government.

Last week, the party's caucuses in two northern state assemblies split amid infighting between members.

Agencies contributed to this report.

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