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A couple say they have “withdrawn” their reference to Vice President-elect Kamala Harris as “the Indian” on Twitter.
Lord Kilclooney was accused of racism after posting the message, while it has been reported to the Standards Commissioner and the Lords Speaker.
The multi-bank colleague previously insisted that there was “nothing racist” in his tweet, which read: “What if Biden goes ahead and the Indian becomes president? Who becomes vice president?”
Kamala Harris has made history as the first female vice president-elect of color
His comment sparked a furious backlash, with politicians and activists asking him to remove the post and apologize.
In a message Monday afternoon, Lord Kilclooney said he had “withdrawn” the comment because “it appears to have upset some people.”
He added: “I did not know her name and identified her with the Indian term. Most of the people understood it. Not racist.”
However, despite saying that he had “withdrawn” the reference, the original tweet remains on his timeline.
It follows the election of Harris, the first black and Asian-American person to assume the position of US vice president alongside fellow Democrat Joe Biden.
Baroness Angela Smith, Labor leader of the House of Lords, said she would report the comments to parliamentary authorities.
She said: “I am so angry about this comment. It is despicable and despicable, and totally unacceptable to anyone, but especially to someone in Parliament.
“I will make an official complaint to both the Standards Commissioner and the Speaker Lords.”
Lord Speaker Lord Fowler said the pair should retract their comments and apologize.
“This is an offensive way of referring to anyone, much less a woman who has just made history,” he said in a tweet.
“The comment is totally unacceptable and has no place in British politics. It couldn’t be clearer.”
Lord Kilclooney denied that his message was racist.
He told the Press Association: “The first thing is to put it in perspective, the criticism is minor, the support is massive. I have never had so many followers on Twitter in one day, never.”
“I am also very fond of India, I am a member of the all-party British India group, I have two Indians (tenants) in my apartments here in London and there is nothing racist about it.
“She is as proud of her Indian roots as Biden is proud to say that she is Irish.”
It is not the first time that Lord Kilclooney, a fellow in various positions, has been accused of racism, after previously describing then-Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar as “a typical Indian.”
She justified her earlier tweet about Varadkar by saying, “I didn’t know her name at the time,” but asked if she would delete her last post now that she knows Ms. Harris’s name, and said, “No, not actually. of his Indian origin. “
The 82-year-old colleague, who is no longer a member of the Ulster Unionist Party, said she did not try to find out her name online before writing the tweet.
When asked why he wasn’t using a search engine before sending the message, he replied, “That’s none of your business.”
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