The deputy mayor of Oldham has apologised for 'liking' a tweet containing a racially charged term.

A member of the public said they were concerned after discovering Councillor Zahid Chauhan OBE had 'liked' a post on social media referring to the former Secretary of Health, Sajid Javid MP, as a 'coconut'.

The word itself is considered racially charged and offensive for people of colour.

The individual who discovered the tweet said he thought it was "awful" that the deputy mayor had "endorsed such a vile term being used, especially when he says that he stands against racial division".

He then raised the matter with the Labour Party but claimed he received "no apology or accountability" but noticed the councillor had unliked the tweet and amended his twitter bio to reflect retweets/likes do not equal endorsements.

In response to the criticism, Cllr Chauhan, who is also a serving GP in the borough, a partner of Royton Medical Centre and the founder of a homelessness organisation, said he apologises for his "acknowledgement" of the tweet and "any distress I may have caused".

He explained in January last year, he had posted an article calling on Sajid Javid "not to destroy our NHS".

But someone responded to the post and implied the government minister was a 'coconut'.

The councillor said: "I did not appreciate the intention of the post at the time and I liked it in acknowledgement.

"Phrases like this are completely unacceptable, and deeply offensive.

"I am sincerely sorry for any distress I may have caused and I will undertake training."

He added: "As a man of Kashmiri origins, I am committed to fighting racism wherever I find it in our society.”