British PM Theresa May suspends Tory lawmaker for using racist language in ‘wood pile’ Brexit analogy

British Prime Minister Theresa May suspended one of her Conservative Party lawmakers on Monday after she used racist language at a think-tank event on the implications of Brexit on the financial services sector.

Anne Marie Morris, who campaigned to leave the European Union in the 2016 referendum, was describing her view of what could be done to ensure a good exit agreement in the two years allowed for talks.

“And then we get to the real n***** in the wood pile which is, in two years, what will happen if there is no deal,” she told a gathering of politicians, lawyers and senior city figures.

She said later she apologised unreservedly for any offence caused. “The comment was entirely unintentional.”

May said she had been shocked to hear about the comment, which she described as “completely unacceptable”.

“I immediately asked the Chief Whip to suspend the party whip,” May said in a statement. “Language like this has absolutely no place in politics or in today’s society.”