A long-standing daily newspaper columnist has been suspended after he described ethnic minority MPs promoted by new PM Liz Truss as “the coconut cabinet.”

Iain Macwhirter, political commentator with Scottish daily The Herald, has apologised for the use of the term in a Twitter thread about the fact that none of the great offices of state are held by white men.

The former BBC political correspondent has been told his column in the Newsquest-owned title has been suspended while they investigate the “offensive tweet.”

The controversy erupted after new Prime Minister Liz Truss’s decision to appoint ethnic minority MPs to the top three Cabinet posts in Tuesday’s reshuffle.

Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng is the son of Ghanian immigrants, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly’s mother came from Sierra Leone, and Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s mother was born in Mauritius.

Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary, University of London, criticised the move on Twitter, saying: “Folk are (rightly!) celebrating diversity in the ‘great offices of state’. But it’s maybe worth noting Kwarteng, Cleverly, and Braverman were all privately educated.

“Fact is that, nowadays, the real lack of diversity in Parliament is class-based.”

Iain responded “The coconut cabinet?”, using a derogatory term which implies people of colour are white on the inside.

Following a backlash on Twitter, Iain deleted the tweet and apologised, saying: “Earlier, I made an ironic reference to a term used by some on the left about black people who are deemed traitors to the cause through joining the Tory Party.

“After I posted it, I realised this joke might give offence and deleted it. It was unacceptable language, wide open to misinterpretation, and I am sincerely sorry for the distress I have caused.

“I have repeatedly applauded the Conservatives for having the most diverse cabinet in British history. Indeed, I tweeted earlier that the Truss cabinet made the Scottish government look ‘hideously white’.

“I have always championed racial diversity in my columns and I am dismayed that my cack-handed attempt at humour suggested otherwise.”

The Herald said in a statement: “We are aware of an offensive tweet by one of our freelance contributors, Iain Macwhirter.

“Although the tweet has since been deleted and an apology issued, we have also suspended his columns while we investigate further.”

Iain, who writes for the Herald in a freelance capacty, is also a former Rector of Edinburgh University, having been elected to the post in 2009.

He is a founder-member of the Free Speech Union Scotland, a campaign group established to oppose cancel culture.