Model's 'monkey' jibe fuels race row

Miss Scotland becomes the latest celebrity forced to apologise after an offensive on-air comment about a black singer

The reigning Miss Scotland was embroiled yesterday in the latest racism row to be played out in the media after she called the black singer and actress Samantha Mumba 'a monkey' on a live radio programme. Nicola McLean, 22, later insisted she was 'not racist' and apologised for her remarks. She joins a string of politicians and celebrities who have had to apologise recently for inappropriate language on race.

At the end of a week when Patrick Mercer, the Conservative's homeland security spokesman, was sacked following a furore prompted by his remarks about 'idle and useless' ethnic minority soldiers, McLean's outburst has fuelled the debate around race and language. The beauty queen made the remarks live on Radio Clyde in Glasgow during a conversation about possible new judges for the X Factor talent show on TV. After Mumba, an Irish actress, singer and model, was described as 'attractive' by one of Radio Clyde's presenters, McLean said she thought she 'looked like a monkey'.

Yesterday, McLean admitted the remark was foolish but maintained she is not a racist. 'I am new to this job and have learnt that sometimes flippant remarks can be perceived in a negative manner. There was no malice or premeditated thought here, just a simple mistake and for that I am truly sorry.'

The Observer can also reveal that the Commission for Racial Equality has demanded fans of Tottenham Hotspur stop calling themselves 'Yiddos' or the 'Yid Army' - a reference to the club's strong Jewish links. The CRE says such behaviour could fuel anti-semitism. 'It is clear that in this day and age racist attitudes and comments are not acceptable,' said a spokeswoman. 'It is the responsibility of all of us to ensure regressive comments such as these do not undermine the achievements that have been made in race equality.'

The commission's intervention has given renewed impetus to an issue that has bitterly divided opinion among the club's supporters, Jewish groups and campaigners against racism in football. It comes as the police investigate video footage showing some West Ham fans chanting, 'I'd rather be a Paki than a Jew' during their 4-3 defeat by Spurs last Sunday.

Piara Powar, director of the Kick It Out campaign against racism in football, said: 'We have had complaints from fans that the chant is used regularly at White Hart Lane. One guy was in his seventies, had fought in the war and was Jewish, and he was deeply offended. A young fan went to Spurs with his dad and sang it but then used the word "Yid" inappropriately in the school playground.'

Jon Benjamin, chief executive of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said: 'The term "Yiddo" has always been regarded as abusive. It comes from the Russian "zhid" and means Jew. It is highly offensive and always has been.'

Race awareness campaigners say there is no excuse for those in the public spotlight failing to appreciate how their words will have political repercussions. 'The first time I was called a Paki I didn't even know what it meant,' said Denis Fernando, of the National Assembly Against Racism (NAAR). 'It was only when I understood the hatred behind the word and was able to put it into context I realised it was hurtful. People have got to understand the social structure behind words.'

Nevertheless, Britain appears to be much less concerned than New York over the relationship between language and race, according to race awareness campaigners. Last year, Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles had an on-air spat with actress Halle Berry after he adopted a faux black American rapper's accent. 'Are we having a racist moment here?' asked Berry, a suggestion furiously denied by the breakfast presenter.

DC Thomson, publisher of the Dandy, provoked outrage shortly before Christmas when it reissued a 1939 anniversary edition of the comic in which a character - Smarty Grandpa - used the word 'nigger' repeatedly. And the image of reality TV star Jade Goody was severely damaged after what many viewers believed was her racist bullying of a fellow Big Brother housemate, Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty. Yesterday it emerged police have dropped their investigation into the affair. Goody was forced to apologise to Shetty following her remarks. 'I'm not racist, but I can see why it has had the impact it's had,' she said.

More recently, the media have been criticised by some for repeated references to Lord Levy's Jewish background, leading to claims that certain stories about Tony Blair's Middle East envoy and chief fundraiser contain 'a whiff of anti-semitism'.

Race equality campaigners are now starting to express alarm over the number of politicians and celebrities who provoke fury over their allegedly racist comments but issue what are perceived to be only half-hearted retractions in which they deny their racist undertones. 'The relationship between language and race is extremely important,' said Milena Buyum, coordinator for the NAAR. 'In a court of law proving someone used the word "nigger" before an attack can be used to show it was a racist attack, which can add an extra two years on the sentence.'

Such an example is an overt link between race and language, but Buyum is concerned at the increasing preponderance of more subtle behaviour surfacing in popular culture, such as Jade Goody ridiculing Shilpa Shetty over her accent and her food while in the Big Brother house.

This argument, however, is met with a sharp retort from some cultural commentators who complain the Big Brother row was another example of 'political correctness gone mad'. Last week a head teacher accused police of overreacting when eight boys were arrested for chanting, 'Yid army' during a leaving ceremony at Chauncy School, Ware, Hertfordshire. Likewise, Mercer's comments last week drew support from many quarters, not least a number of black soldiers who served under him.

A growing backlash against multiculturalism has made tackling racism increasingly difficult, according to experts. They warn complaints from both liberal and right-wing commentators that multiculturalism hasn't worked and that ethnic communities are failing to integrate is perpetuating the fear of 'otherness'.

Additional reporting by Denis Campbell and Lorna Martin

They said what?

'She should fuck off home'
Former Miss Great Britain Danielle Lloyd talks about Bollywood movie star Shilpa Shetty live on Celebrity Big Brother.

'Shilpa Poppadom'
Jade Goody's name for Shetty.

'A fucking lazy nigger'
Ron Atkinson talking about Marcel Desailly, Chelsea's black defender, believing his TV microphone was off.

[I came across a lot of ethnic minority soldiers] 'who were idle and useless, but who used racism as cover for misdemeanours'
Former Conservative spokesman for homeland security Patrick Mercer.

'I'm a black American guy. A big fat black guy'
Radio 1 DJ Chris Moyles interviews Halle Berry.

'Suicide bombers and limb amputators'
TV presenter Robert Kilroy-Silk's description of Arabs in a newspaper article.

Observer