The former minister said he 'went to some trouble to be as authentic as possible' when he went to a party as a black singing star.
Trudeau's blackface pictures 'are a conscious insult'
Sir Desmond, who was knighted by David Cameron in 2016, said:"He would have done better to have said it was an entirely acceptable bit of fun and refused to apologise. "I once went to a Blues Brothers themed fancy-dress party as James Brown. I went to some trouble to be as authentic as possible.Asked by Sky News if he had worn blackface, Sir Desmond said:"I think you can draw your own conclusions from [the blog]."Shadow women and equalities secretary Dawn Butler said:"This is another example of a politician not even trying to understand the history of oppression and racism.
"Desmond Swayne has not only admitted to blacking up himself, but is now actively encouraging others to do so. "The Tories need to explain what action will be taken against him and whether this took place while he was a government minister."appeared to fall asleep in the House of CommonsThe MP said at the time the picture of him dozing behind former chancellor Ken Clarke was"horrible" and"embarrassing".
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