In late July, Peter Grant, an Member of Parliament for the Scottish National Party, issued a tongue-in-cheek tweet (or is it an 𝕏?) to Irish Tánaiste Micheál Martin, joking that "The Brits are going to sanction us if they catch us talking to Europeans."
On the surface, this might seem fairly unremarkable. But according to the Scottish Conservative Party, the use of the phrase "The Brits" was downright offensive — possibly even a slur, according to the Scottish Daily Express, which referred to the offense as a "derogatory IRA term for British people."
Tory Mid Scotland and Fife MSP Murdo Fraser also hit out at the choice of words.
He said: "Peter Grant and his colleagues know exactly what they are doing on social media. They are trying to distract from the party's internal chaos.
"But this is meant to be an MP representing Fife in the UK Parliament. He needs to be careful with his language and grow up."
(A few days earlier, Fraser himself had been accused of making light of wildfire and heat wave damage caused by climate change.)
Plenty of đť•Ź commentators offered their own pearl-clutching twists on Grant's supposed slur:
The question remains: if "The Brits" is indeed a derogatory slur, is still okay for British people to use the B-word?
