Former Cabinet minister Shawn Crockwell has scotched a rumour that he resigned after hearing Senator Michael Fahy make racist remarks to Michael Dunkley, the Premier, in a bathroom.

Mr Crockwell told The Royal Gazette: “There is no truth to it whatsoever. None of it is true. I don’t know where that came from — it’s something that has come out of nothing.

“Normally, there would be something that was true and it would be exaggerated. But in this case I don’t even know the origin. There was no encounter in a bathroom and no overhearing Michael Fahy and Michael Dunkley.”

Mr Fahy told the Upper Chamber on Tuesday that he felt “duty-bound” to address the gossip, which was being spread on social media after the protests against the Pathways to Status Bill.

A post on Facebook, shared by no fewer than 30 people, 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.”

Mr Fahy told senators 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.”

Mr Crockwell, who quit as the Minister of Tourism Development and Transport on March 16 over the Premier’s handling of the Pathways to Status controversy, said he was not a “big social media person”, but that someone had sent him a screen shot of the rumour via e-mail.

“I didn’t know how far it was going to go. Of course, with Michael Fahy giving a statement, obviously it’s become much bigger. I don’t know who is sending it around.

“Those who have asked me individually, I have told them it wasn’t true.”

After resigning, Mr Crockwell told this newspaper he had lost confidence in the One Bermuda Alliance under the Premier, and added that the party leadership had a lack of understanding of the black community.

He reiterated today that he planned to remain in the OBA, holding the Government to account from the back benches, and return to private law practice.

“It’s important that there is stability and continuity of government,” he said.

“I will, of course, be observing what the Premier and the administration do going forward.”