LONDON The head of Britain's equality watchdog said sorry on Monday after causing a stink with an off-colour joke about the late Queen Mother during an after-dinner speech.

Commission for Equality and Human Rights chief Trevor Phillips reportedly drew gasps when he quipped about dancing with Queen Elizabeth, the current queen's mother who died in 2002, and having to avoid clasping her colostomy bag. Speaking on Queen Elizabeth II's official birthday at the weekend, he told an anecdote about how, when he was a student leader, he was briefed by Buckingham Palace officials on how to dance with the Queen Mother at a ball.

"One said, 'Mr Phillips, I need to share something with you. When you're dancing with the Queen Mother you will have to lay your hands on her'," he told the black-tie audience, according to the Daily Mirror newspaper. "Yes, that's what happens in dancing. But I'm not going to grope the Queen Mother," Phillips replied.

To which the royal aide said: "You have to be careful where you put your hands. You have to be careful about the colostomy bag."

According to reports, the joke in front of 2,000 guests at an Imperial College dinner went down like a lead balloon, at which point Phillips spluttered: "I had to say that after your dinner."

His office issued a statement on Monday apologising for his attempted joke. "Trevor gave a speech at a private event, during which he did tell an anecdote," it said.

"However, the comments were not meant to cause offence to anyone. He unreservedly apologises for the remarks which were made and has written to Imperial College to apologise."

Agence France-Presse