Trevor Matthews, head of insurance company Standard Life, has issued an apology for using a racist remark during a speech setting out pension proposals.

Whilst discussing why a piece of bad news had been buried in the middle of the report he used a racist remark. It was a colloquialism he often heard in his childhood.

I don’t want people to be racist and its good when people apologise when they have caused offence, but not one news report that I have read has quoted what he actually said. This does not mean that I want to cause further offence by gratuitous repetition of what has been said, I’m just nosey and whilst I know I’d be offended too I would like to know what he said.

I know what he said after he said what he did - as this has been quoted extensively: “I would like to apologise to you for using an inappropriate phrase during my presentation. I deeply regret saying what I did - it is not in any way a reflection of what I think”.

But I’m still no wiser as to what he said before he said what he said about what he said that caused such offence in the first place. Maybe I’m wrong in wanting to know what he said and that repeating what he did say would cause even more offence but am I the only one who’s curious?

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Keywords: Apology, Standard Life, Trevor Matthews. Racism