A former BBC journalist has been blasted for calling Liz Truss ' Secretaries of State appointments "the coconut cabinet".
Iain Macwhirter, who is currently a columnist for the Scottish paper The Herald, reposted a tweet about Kwasi Kwarteng, James Cleverly and Suella Braverman and celebrating diversity.
The tweet also mentioned that all three people were privately educated and that 'the real lack of diversity is class-based'.
Iain added to the tweet: "The coconut cabinet?"
'Coconut' is an offensive term that describes people of colour as 'white on the inside' at the expense of their cultural and ethnic heritage.
The tweet has since been deleted, but he went on to tweet out a link to his column in the Herald.
Viewers slammed him on social media, shared screenshots of the tweet, and called for an apology.
"Dude you literally did a racism and ignoring any criticism? Not a good look," one user said while another added: "It's 2022 and bold as brass you're calling people coconuts on social media. Absolutely shameless racist, not even embarassed - disgusting."
Another said: "No apology for the previous tweet?" while one added: "Nothing to say about… y’know, *that* deleted tweet?"
He later shared an apology on his Twitter page.
"Earlier, I made an ironic reference to a term used by some on the left about black people who are deemed traitors to the cause through joining the Tory Party," he said.
"After I posted it, I realised this joke might give offence and deleted it. It was unacceptable language, wide open to misinterpretation, and I am sincerely sorry for the distress I have caused."
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Iain added: "It was unacceptable language, wide open to misinterpretation, and I am sincerely sorry for the distress I have caused. I have repeatedly applauded the Conservatives for having the most diverse cabinet in British history.
"Indeed, I tweeted earlier that the Truss cabinet made the Scottish Government look 'hideously white'. I have always championed racial diversity in my columns and I am dismayed that my cack-handed attempt at humour suggested otherwise."
Many people in the comments didn't accept the apology and also slammed him for how he worded it.
A spokesperson for The Herald also tweeted: 'We are aware of an offensive tweet by one of our freelance contributors, Iain Macwhirter.
"Although the tweet has since been deleted and an apology issued, we have also suspended his columns while we investigate further."
Iain is a political commentator for both The Herald and The Herald on Sunday.
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