That pesky woodpile and inhabitant again

Britain:

"David Cameron was dragged into a race row last night after one of his frontbenchers made an unfortunate remark during a House of Lords debate. Lord Dixon-Smith, the Tory spokesman for communities and local government, referred to concerns about government housing legislation as the "nigger in the woodpile".

The phrase described fugitive slaves who hid in piles of firewood as they fled persecution in the American Deep South in the mid-19th century. In November a Tory councillor in Bedfordshire resigned after using the same words.

Mr Cameron said last night that the remark - which is recorded in Hansard - was "not appropriate" but he refused to dismiss him. Instead Lord Dixon-Smith went twice to apologise to Lord Strathclyde, the Tory leader in the Lords. He told The Times afterwards that the remark had "slipped out without my thinking".

He said that he had realised his mistake when in the chamber and apologised. "It was common parlance when I was younger, put it that way," he said. He emphasised that he now considered the matter closed.

Source