This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/may/19/labour-europe-minister-apologises-after-calling-voter-a-horrible-racist

The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Labour Europe minister apologises after calling voter a 'horrible racist' Labour Europe minister apologises after calling voter a 'horrible racist'
(35 minutes later)
Shadow Europe minister Pat Glass has apologised after describing a voter as a “horrible racist” while on the EU referendum campaign trail. Pat Glass, Labour’s shadow Europe minister, has apologised after being caught on microphone calling a voter in Derbyshire a “horrible racist”.
She made the comments at the end of a radio interview after the encounter in Sawley, Derbyshire, adding “I’m never coming back to wherever this is”. Glass, who replaced Pat McFadden in the role when Jeremy Corbyn reshuffled his shadow cabinet in January, had been out on the campaign trail with a BBC local radio reporter, knocking on doors in the Derbyshire village of Sawley.
Glass said the comments were inappropriate and apologised to the people of Sawley “for any offence I have caused”. Thinking that their interview had ended, she said: “The very first person I come to is a horrible racist. I’m never coming back to wherever this is.”
The BBC said the man she was referring to later denied being a racist, but said that in his conversation with the MP he had spoken of a Polish family in the area who he thought were living on benefits. He had described them as “spongers”, the man told the BBC.
Related: Labour MP apologises for calling voter 'horrible racist' after clash over immigration - Politics liveRelated: Labour MP apologises for calling voter 'horrible racist' after clash over immigration - Politics live
The remarks, which have drawn comparison with Gordon Brown’s infamous “bigoted woman” comment following his meeting with Gillian Duffy during the 2010 general election campaign, came at the end of an interview with BBC Radio Derby. Glass later issued an apology, saying: “The comments I made were inappropriate and I regret them. Concerns about immigration are entirely valid and it’s important that politicians engage with them. I apologise to the people living in Sawley for any offence I have caused.”
She can be heard telling the reporter: “The very first person I come to is a horrible racist. I’m never coming back to wherever this is.” Labour sources were supportive of Glass, but the incident will stir memories of Gordon Brown’s embarrassment on the general election campaign trail in 2010 when he had to apologise to a voter, Gillian Duffy, after being recorded in a private conversation calling her a “bigoted woman”.
The BBC reported that the man she was referring to denied being a racist and said he had referred in the conversation with Glass to a Polish family in the area who he believed were living on benefits, and said he described them as “spongers”. The government is unlikely to seek to make political capital out of Glass’s remarks, since Downing Street is on the same side as Labour in the campaign to keep Britain in the EU.
North West Durham MP Glass said: “The comments I made were inappropriate and I regret them. But her misstep will be seized on by those who view the pro-EU campaign as dominated by Westminster politicians distant from the concerns of ordinary voters.
“Concerns about immigration are entirely valid and it’s important that politicians engage with them. I apologise to the people living in Sawley for any offence I have caused.” Gisela Stuart, the Labour MP who is co-chair of Vote Leave, has said her party’s decision to campaign to remain in the EU was a “recruiting agent for Ukip” because it suggests Labour is not sufficiently concerned about immigration.
Tory MP Maggie Throup, whose Erewash constituency includes Sawley, said the Labour frontbencher “needs to understand that the EU referendum is a highly emotive subject with passionate views on each side of the debate”.
“Her comments echo those of Gordon Brown’s during the ill-fated Labour general election campaign in 2010, and clearly demonstrate just how out of touch Labour still are with a large proportion of British people.”
She called on the shadow Europe minister to make a full apology to her constituent “at the earliest opportunity” and to return to the area “to see for herself just how great a place it is to live, work and raise a family”.