Iain Macwhirter to leave The Herald after offensive tweet
- Published
Iain Macwhirter has written for The Herald for more than 22 years
The Herald's political commentator Iain Macwhirter is leaving the newspaper following a racism investigation into a tweet he posted.
Mr Macwhirter described the UK Cabinet, which includes several ethnic minority MPs, as a "coconut cabinet".
The term is used to imply that someone is black on the outside and white on the inside.
The newspaper said the tweet was "offensive and unacceptable" but that there was no racist intent.
The freelance journalist has written for The Herald for more than 22 years.
He previously spent almost 20 years with the BBC and is a former rector of Edinburgh University.
In a tweet The Herald said: "After concluding our investigation, we are satisfied that there was no racist intent in what was still an offensive and unacceptable tweet by our freelance contributor Iain Macwhirter.
"Iain has been an exceptional, long-serving political commentator for The Herald over 22 years. regularly shaping and leading the news agenda in Scotland through authoritative and insightful comments and analysis.
"He has written thoughtfully on race and other sensitive issues over the decades he has been with us, and these pieces have always met our editorial standards and have been well received by our readers."
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The statement added that following discussions, it had been mutually agreed that Mr Macwhirter would leave The Herald to pursue other opportunities.
His final column will appear in this weekend's Herald on Sunday.
"He goes with our best wishes, and we want to put down our sincere thanks to him for the body of work he has achieved with the newspaper," the statement concluded.
The tweet appeared in a brief exchange of views on the new Cabinet.
Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng is the son of Ghanian immigrants. James Cleverly, whose mother was from Sierra Leone, is foreign secretary, and Suella Braverman, whose parents are both of Indian origin, is home secretary.
The tweet was later deleted and Mr Macwhirter tweeted an apology for his "cack-handed sense of humour". He said it was "unacceptable language" that was "wide open to misinterpretation", adding that he was "sincerely sorry".
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