Burqa comment sparks ire

LONDON: British Prime Minister Theresa May and other senior Conservatives told former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson to say sorry on Tuesday for a newspaper column in which he wrote that burqawearing women looked like “letter boxes’’ and bank robbers.

Mr Johnson, who quit the government last month in a dispute over Brexit, made the remarks in a Daily Telegraph article published on Monday.

Mr Johnson said he opposed banning burqas and other face-covering garments, but wrote that it was “absolutely ridiculous that people should choose to go around looking like letter boxes”.

His article drew criticism from Muslim groups and fellow politicians.

Mohamed Sheikh, founder of the Conservative Muslim Forum, said Mr Johnson’s article had been “totally out of order”.

Conservative Party chairman Brandon Lewis said in a tweet that he had asked Mr Johnson to apologize. Ms May said she agreed with Mr Lewis.

“I do think that we all have to be very careful about the language and terms we use. And some of the terms Boris used describing people’s appearance obviously have offended,’’ she said.

Mr Johnson is a former mayor of London and one of Britain’s best-known politicians. He resigned as foreign secretary in July, accusing May of killing “the Brexit dream’’ with her plan to seek close economic ties with the European Union after the U.K. leaves the bloc next year.

The resignation solidified Mr Johnson’s position as a leader of the pro-Brexit wing of the Conservative Party, which is deeply divided over its attitude to the EU. Some suspected Mr Johnson’s burqa comments were intended to boost his appeal among right-wing members of the party.