BRITAIN:A British Conservative front bencher was sacked yesterday after he said being called a "black bastard" was part and parcel of army life for ethnic minority soldiers.
Patrick Mercer, the Tories' shadow homeland security minister and a former army colonel, also said he knew "a lot" of ethnic minority servicemen who used perceived discrimination as an excuse for poor performance.
Mr Mercer told The Timesnewspaper that suffering racial abuse - as well as abuse about facial features, hair colour and weight - was common in the army and to be expected.
"That's the way it is in the army," he said. "If someone is slow on the assault course, you'd get people shouting: 'Come on you fat bastard, come on you ginger bastard, come on you black bastard'."
Conservative party leader David Cameron said Mr Mercer's comments were "completely unacceptable". "We should not tolerate racism in the army or in any walk of life."
Mr Mercer apologised yesterday. "The offence I have obviously caused is deeply regretted," he said in a statement.
"What I have said is clearly misjudged and I can only apologise if I have embarrassed in any way those fine men whom I commanded." - (Reuters)