Michael Fahy has vehemently denied making racist remarks in a private conversation with the Premier, and suggested he may take legal action against his accusers.

Speaking in the Senate on Tuesday evening, the Minister of Home Affairs said he felt “duty-bound” to address gossip on social media about the alleged incident between himself and Michael Dunkley.

The post, shared on Facebook by Deon Gibbons, Felecia Minors and Lakeisha Massop, appeared to centre around last week’s immigration reform protests against Mr Fahy’s proposed Pathways to Status Bill. It implied that Shawn Crockwell resigned as Minister of Tourism Development and Transport last Wednesday due to his colleagues’ racial epithets, rather than his dissatisfaction at the One Bermuda Alliance’s lack of understanding of the black community.

The post said: “The rumour mill has it that crockwell overheard Faye (sic) n dunkley in the bathroom talking and the talk was ‘these n****s won’t back down.’ And other things were said. When he emerged from the stall the two a***s were lost for words.”

On the “Bermuda Election 2012” Facebook page, the post attracted more than 70 comments, with opinion divided as to whether or not the allegation was true.

Mr Fahy said he was staggered when first asked about the rumour, and called those spreading hearsay online “cowardly in their approach”.

He added: “I find racially inflammatory language disgusting, and I will use whatever legal means necessary to ensure that those perpetrators are brought to some form of justice in the courts.

“Maybe it’s deliberately designed to inflame and cause hurt in the community. Unfortunately, some people think it’s perfectly acceptable to make unfounded and scurrilous personal attacks on other people, simply because of their race, creed or colour.”

Mr Fahy, who was born in Canada and came to Bermuda at age 3, also criticised those who questioned the national identity of himself and his family.

“How are we supposed to heal when people behave like that?” he asked. “I have never said anything like that to anyone in my entire life. A Bermudian is a Bermudian is a Bermudian. Whether you were born here, whether you have had the opportunity to gain status, or whether you fell in love with a Bermudian and had the opportunity to remain.”

Mr Fahy urged his fellow senators to help to tackle “trolls” and prevent them from spreading unrest through personal and incendiary attacks against either the Government or the Opposition.

“It seems to me that all of us as leaders should call these things out,” he said. “We have a duty to nip it in the bud.”

• On occasion The Royal Gazette may decide to not allow comments on what we consider to be a controversial or contentious story. As we are legally liable for any slanderous or defamatory comments made on our website, this move is for our protection as well as that of our readers