Johnson slammed for saying burka-wearing women look like ‘letter boxes’

Boris Johnson has come under fire after saying that Muslim women wearing burkas “look like letter boxes” or bank robbers.

The former foreign secre - tary came out against calls for a ban on the face-covering veils in public places, but described them as “absolutely ridiculous and compared their wearers to rebellious teenagers.

His comments, in response to the introduction of a burka ban in Denmark, sparked an angry response from Muslim organisations and MPS who accused him of stoking Islamophobia for political gain.

The assistant secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, Miqdaad Versi, said Mr Johnson was “pandering to the far right”, while Labour MP David Lammy branded him a “pound-shop Donald Trump”.

Lab our’s Jess Phillips said she would report Mr Johnson to the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Denmark last week followed France, Germany, Austria and B elgium in banning face-covering garments like the burka and niqab in public places.

A fine of around £120 has already been imposed on a woman wearing a niqab in a shopping centre in the town of Horsholm, after another woman reportedly tried to tear it off.

Mr Johnson said he felt “fully entitled” to expect women to remove face coverings when talking to him at his MP’S surgery, and said schools and universities should be able to take the same approach if a student “turns up ... looking like a bank robber”.

“If you tell me that the burka is oppressive, then I am with you,” he said.

“If you say that it is weird and bullying to expect women to cover their faces, then I totally agree – and I would add that I can find no scriptural authority for the practice in the Koran.

“I would go further and say that it is absolutely ridiculous that people should choose to go around looking like letter boxes.”

Businesses and government agencies should also be able to “enforce a dress code that enables their employees to interact with customers”, including by allowing them to see their faces, said Mr Johnson.