White House is forced to correct Joe Biden over ‘Black and Tans’ jibe

The White House has been forced to correct Joe Biden to quell a fresh row after he jibed about the ‘Black and Tans’ during a pub visit in Ireland.

The US president risked a backlash over his ‘anti-British’ stance with remarks to a packed bar in Dundalk, County Louth, last night. 

Mr Biden said he was wearing a shamrock tie given to him by rugby-player Rob Kearney – a distant relative – saying approvingly that he ‘beat the hell out of the Black and Tans’.

That was an auxilliary police force sent to Ireland in the 1920s to counter IRA extremism – pilloried in Republican folk songs for their brutality.

However, the White House website attempted to smooth over the situation by clarifying its official record to refer to the All Blacks – the New Zealand Rugby team.

The comment drew laughter in the pub, with Mr Biden’s reputation as a gaffe machine leaving room for doubt about whether it was intentional or merely a slip.