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| Peer apologises for using term 'welching' in Lords debate | Peer apologises for using term 'welching' in Lords debate |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A government minister has apologised after inadvertently insulting Welsh members of the House of Lords by using the term "welching". | A government minister has apologised after inadvertently insulting Welsh members of the House of Lords by using the term "welching". |
| Lady Williams was answering a question about tackling rogue landlords, when she suggested a need to stop some "welching" on their obligations. | Lady Williams was answering a question about tackling rogue landlords, when she suggested a need to stop some "welching" on their obligations. |
| Labour peer, Lord Morris of Aberavon, challenged her on the use of the term, describing it as "inappropriate". | Labour peer, Lord Morris of Aberavon, challenged her on the use of the term, describing it as "inappropriate". |
| The origins of the term are disputed. It can be spelled 'welsh' or 'welch'. | The origins of the term are disputed. It can be spelled 'welsh' or 'welch'. |
| The exchange took place during a short debate on protection of tenants in the private rented sector. | The exchange took place during a short debate on protection of tenants in the private rented sector. |
| Lord Morris, a former attorney general who represented the Welsh town of Aberavon as its MP for 42 years until 2001, said: "If I heard the term correctly, the minister used the inappropriate term welching. Would she define it please?" | Lord Morris, a former attorney general who represented the Welsh town of Aberavon as its MP for 42 years until 2001, said: "If I heard the term correctly, the minister used the inappropriate term welching. Would she define it please?" |
| In response, Baroness William said: "I did not mean it as a derogatory term to the Welsh... There is a term to welsh on an agreement... It is not an insult... I simply meant to not meet their obligations." | In response, Baroness William said: "I did not mean it as a derogatory term to the Welsh... There is a term to welsh on an agreement... It is not an insult... I simply meant to not meet their obligations." |
| The Conservative local government minister later clarified that she "did not realise in using the term 'welch' it was an insult to anybody, and I do apologise if any bad feeling was felt by that term". | |
| According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term's first recorded usage was in the 1860s in relation to a dispute over a horse racing bet, being understood to mean to "renege on payment of money owed as winnings". | |
| In subsequent use, the OED says it has come to be defined as to "renege on a promise or agreement with someone", to "cheat or dupe" or to "fail to honour a debt or obligation". | |
| It notes that the phrase is "sometimes considered offensive in view of the conjectured connection with Welsh people". |