Video of dog taught Nazi salute and excited 'gas all Jews' response has Scotsman arrested

A man has been arrested after he caused outrage by uploading a video of him teaching his dog to give 'Sieg Heil' salutes and to respond excitedly to the phrase "gas the Jews". Markus Meechan, 28, from Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, was forced to apologise for the clip which has been viewed nearly one million times entitled 'M8 yer dugs a Nazi'.

In the video, Meechan says he wanted to turn his girlfriend's pug into the "least cute thing I could think of", therefore he decided to train him to react to anti-Semitic slurs and raise his paw up whenever he called "Sieg heil". The clip also sees Meechen playing speeches by Adolf Hitler to the dog, Budduh.

Following the outcry the video caused, which reportedly resulted in Meechan losing his job, he has now been arrested on suspicion of a hate crime as well as alleged breach of the electronic communications act of 2003. He has since been bailed pending further investigations, reported The Sun

Police Scotland Detective Inspector David Cockburn said: "This clip was shared online and has been viewed almost one million times.

"I would ask anyone who has had the misfortune to have viewed it to think about the pain and hurt the narrative has caused a minority of people in our community. The clip is deeply offensive and no reasonable person can possibly find the content acceptable in today's society. This arrest should serve as a warning to anyone posting such material online, or in any other capacity, that such views will not be tolerated."

Meechan has denied he is anti-Semitic and the whole thing was just a joke to "annoy his girlfriend". A spokesperson for the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities added: "Anti-Semitism is not something that can in any degree be regarded as a joke. It is a form of racism that needs to be condemned just as we would any other form of racism."