Black councillor calls Asian colleague a 'coconut'

A black councillor has apologised for calling an Asian colleague a "coconut" in a row over funding.

Shirley Brown, a Liberal Democrat councillor, used the term towards Conservative member Jay Jethwa at a Bristol City Council budget meeting. The incident was recorded live on a webcam at the meeting.

Mrs Brown made the comment in response to a proposal to end funding for the Legacy Commission which funds ethnic minority projects but has apologised.



Mrs Brown told Mrs Jethwa at the meeting: "In our culture we have a word for you, a word which many in the city would understand, and that's coconut. At the end of the day I look at you as that."

A spokesperson for Bristol City Council said a complaint was sent by the chief whip of the Conservative Party at Bristol City Council to the head of legal services, expressing concern at the remark made during the budget meeting.

A spokesperson for Mrs Brown said she sent a letter of apology to Mrs Jethwa and "apologized unreservedly" for the comment.