INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Authors: TheIndianSubcontinent News AgencyLord Kilclooney called Prime Minister Leo Varadkar a typical Indian on social media
(File photo)London: A member of Britain's House of Lords was today forced to deny that he is a racist after he
called Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar a typical Indian on social media.Lord Kilclooney, a former member of the Ulster Unionist Party or
UUP in Northern Ireland, was responding to a BBC headline on Twitter which read: "DUP: Varadkar's visit to Northern Ireland showed
Mr Kilclooney tweeted back yesterday with the words, Typical Indian."I am certainly no racist and in particular have an admiration for
A member of the British/Indian APPG (All Party Parliamentary Group), only yesterday I had a reply from 10, Downing St asking for a
relaxation of visas for Indians
My point was that the PM (Varadkar) had upset Unionists more than Irish PMs had," he later tweeted, after being accused of racism.But many
took to Twitter to condemn his words, including former Ulster Unionist leader Mike Nesbitt who said it could only be interpreted as a racist
comment.Alliance Party leader Naomi Long said Lord Kilclooney was "an embarrassment".She said his latest comment was a "slur on all Indian
people with his use of the word 'typical'" and demanded that the Speaker of the House of Lords raise the matter with the peer.Democratic
Unionist Party or DUP MLA Christopher Stalford tweeted: "I don't know what John Taylor (Lord Kilclooney) thinks he's playing at but he
Absolutely ridiculous behavior."The 80-year-old life peer defended his remark by saying Mr Varadkar had been "most provocative" over the
course of the Brexit negotiations and had "misunderstood the views of many unionists"
He added that the Irish premier had a "dismal lack of knowledge" about Northern Ireland affairs.The comments came after Northern Ireland's
DUP accused Maharashtrian-origin Mr Varadkar of breach of protocol saying he visited the region without informing local elected
representatives of his visit to counties Armagh and Down
The Irish leader stressed that he followed standard protocol by informing the Northern Ireland Office of his visit.I can assure anyone that
I just want to be a good neighbour and I received a very warm welcome in Northern Ireland," Mr Varadkar said."The only future that we have
on this island is to work together and that's what I want to do
I'm not here to upset anyone or make anyone uncomfortable
I'm just here as a neighbour," he added.Ireland and Northern Ireland have a long history of political troubles, brought to the fore by the
ongoing Brexit negotiations which will leave European Union member-state Ireland bordering a non-EU member state, Northern Ireland
The border issue is seen as a major stumbling block in Britain and the EU finalising any exit deal.This is not the first time Mr Kilclooney
has been caught up in a racism controversy
Last November, he acknowledged that a remark he made about Mr Varadkar had caused "upset and misunderstanding" and withdrew his tweet that
referred to the premier as "the Indian".In Twitter one is restricted to a limited number of words and so for shorthand I used the term
Indian for the new PM in Dublin
This has caused upset and misunderstanding and so I withdraw it
I am no way racist and accept that Mr Varadkar is a 100 per cent Irish citizen, he had said at the time.Mr Varadkar was born in Ireland to a
Mumbai-born father and Irish mother
In June, 2017, he became Ireland's first Indian-origin 'Taoiseach' or prime minister.
