Boris refuses to apologise for saying women in burkas look like letter boxes
As the PM says he clearly caused offence...
THERESA May and Boris Johnson were locked in a bitter stand-off last night as she demanded he apologise for saying Muslim women wearing burkas look like ‘letter boxes’.
The Prime Minister said the former foreign secretary had ‘clearly caused offence’ with his remarks.
But Mr Johnson refused to back down and friends branded his critics ‘ridiculous’ last night.
Allies of the ex-Cabinet minister last night accused Downing Street of attempting to stoke the row in order to undermine him.
Conservative Party chairman Brandon Lewis yesterday ordered Mr Johnson to apologise over the newspaper article, in which he also compared women who wear the face-covering veils to bank robbers.
Senior Tory figures including Mr Johnson’s two former deputies lined up to criticise him while former Tory chairman Baroness Warsi said the remarks amounted to ‘bigotry’.
Speaking on a trip to Edinburgh, the Prime Minister said she agreed with calls for Mr Johnson to apologise.
She said: ‘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. So I agree with Brandon Lewis.
‘What’s important is we believe people should have the right to practise their
‘They have a right to practise religion’
religion and, in the case of women and the burka and niqab, to choose how they dress.
‘I believe women should be able to choose how they dress.’ But a source close to Mr Johnson made clear he was not retracting his comments.
‘It is ridiculous that these views are being attacked – we must not fall into the trap of shutting down the debate on difficult issues,’ they said.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph on Monday, Mr Johnson said he did not want Britain to follow European countries such as Denmark in banning the burka and niqab in public. But he described the burka as ‘ridiculous’ and ‘weird’ and said women wearing them looked like letter boxes or bank robbers.
Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt, who served under Mr Johnson until his resignation as foreign secretary last month, said he agreed with his former boss that the burka should not be banned.
But he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘I would never have made such a comment. I think there is a degree of offence in that, absolutely right.’
Fellow foreign minister Lord Ahmad, who is the PM’s special envoy on freedom of religion, tweeted: ‘Boris Johnson’s comments and the comparisons he makes about women who wear a face veil have caused offence to British Muslims and beyond. Of course you can have an opinion or criticise religious practices but a point can be made without belittling a faith. Respect is what defines our nation.’
However, Mr Johnson’s father, Stanley, came to his defence. He told ITV1’s Good Morning Britain: ‘I think we are just picking holes here. I think people are whipping up a little mountain out of a molehill on this one, I really do.’ Tory MP Nadine Dorries said the former foreign secretary ‘did not go far enough’ with his remarks.
She said: ‘Any clothing a woman is forced to wear which hides both her beauty and her bruises should be banned and have no place in our liberal, progressive country.’ Fellow Tory Andrew Bridgen said Mr Johnson did not need to apologise. He told BBC Radio 4’s The World At One the former foreign secretary had been trying to raise the subject in a ‘lighthearted way’.
He added: ‘I think if you can get your point across with a little bit of humour it’s very much appreciated by the public.’