An official with Britain's Labor Party insulted those with Scottish accents by asking for a translation of a Glasgow man's comments, a union official says.

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Collins had interjected in a question-and-answer session with Labor deputy leader Harriet Harman to request a translation of the man's comments, the Daily Mail reported Sunday.

"I heard Mr. Collins' remarks clearly. I was upset by what he said and considered it to be racist. The man had a normal Scottish accent and most people could understand him perfectly well," union official Mary Fee said in her formal complaint against Collins.

Fee said after contacting Collins about his comments Saturday, the Labor Party official apologized and blamed his actions on the site's acoustics for his verbal snafu.

"He said he was very sorry and he had not intended to cause offense," she told the Mail. "He said it was as a result of a problem with the sound in the hall."