Anger at ‘clear the bodies’ Libya gag

MR Johnson came under fire yesterday after he joked that Libya would be rebuilt as a great tourist destination – once they had ‘cleared the dead bodies’.

He said the Libyan seaside town of Sirte, former stronghold of IS and the scene of fierce fighting, could be ‘the next Dubai’.

Sirte was the birthplace of tyrant Colonel Gaddafi, who was

captured and killed there in 2011. Mr Johnson said of Libya: ‘It’s an incredible country, beautiful white sands, beautiful seas.

‘It’s got real potential. Young people who want to do all sorts of tech stuff. There is a group of UK business people, wonderful guys, who want to invest in Sirte on the coast.

‘They have a vision to turn Sirte into the next Dubai – the only thing they have got to do is clear the dead bodies away and they will be there.’

But shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry called his remarks ‘unbelievably crass, callous and cruel’.

Tory MP Heidi Allen tweeted: ‘100% unacceptable from anyone, let alone foreign sec. Boris must be sacked.’

Mr Johnson was speaking at the ‘Global Britain – building a prosperous trading nation’ fringe event.