There's been an outcry online after a member of the British House of Lords described the Taoiseach as "the Indian" in a tweet.
John Taylor - now Lord Kilclooney, and former deputy leader of the Ulster Unionist Party - claims he used the term as shorthand because he didn't know how to spell Leo Varadkar's surname.
Simon Coveney is stirring things up . Very dangerous non statesman like role! Clearly hoping to undermine the Indian
— Lord John Kilclooney (@KilclooneyJohn) November 23, 2017
The former unionist MP quickly came under fire from several politicians across the political spectrum.
Disgraceful comment John. Leo is 100% Irish as you well know. The mind boggles.
— Sen Catherine Noone (@senatornoone) November 23, 2017
Lord Kilclooney does not speak for me. I think calling an Taoiseach “the Indian” is appalling. If he was still a member of the Ulster Unionist Party and I was still Leader, it wouldn’t end well. But for me, it didn’t anyway 😱
— Mike Nesbitt (@mikenesbittni) November 23, 2017
Later Lord Kilclooney admitted the Taoiseach was "100 per cent Irish", and promised to learn how to spell his surname.
He added: "Term Indian used for shorthand as I am certainly no racist as my past confirms."
Learned today that the new PM in the Republic of Ireland is 100 per cent Irish Citizen and has an Indian name which spelt correctly is VARADKAR .
— Lord John Kilclooney (@KilclooneyJohn) November 23, 2017
