Boris Johnson knew exactly what he was doing with his comments on burkas

Boris Johnson’s gratuitous comments in the Daily Telegraph about Muslim women’s dress should ring alarm bells for anyone who values tolerance towards religious beliefs and their cultural manifestation. He is a senior politician, not a professional comedian, so Rowan Atkinson’s recent defence of his comments is misguided.

This kind of language, aligned with racial intoler- ance in general, is a disturbing reminder of the atmosphere which prevailed in Germany under Adolf Hitler’s rule. When insulting comments are directed against specific groups of people in society they should always be challenged. We have already seen a rise in hate crimes against Muslim women since Johnson’s article appeared in the newspaper.

Johnson knew exactly what he was doing when he wrote that article. He projects the image of a benign, loveable rogue, obscuring his hunger for power even as he lurks in the shadows sharpening his dagger.

Like other power-hungry politicians,he puts his own personal ambitions before ethical considerations. CAROLYN TAYLOR Gagiebank, Wellbank Broughty Ferry, Dundee Recent letters have courageously criticised the faux outrage which greeted Boris Johnson’s comments on the ban introduced by some European nations to wearing the burka in public.

I thought he was in line with the British liberal tradition in saying what he disliked about this alien cultural “statement” yet advocating it be tolerated save in a few, defined situations. The core of his argument was that we shouldn’t ban the niqab/burka even if it is alien to our culture and, arguably, a symbol of female oppression, because to do so would itself be illiberal.

But where communication was necessary between people in an “official” situation (court, classroom, surgery, etc), people must remove their veil and communicate like everyone else.

To the snowflake generation, however, everything is now seen through a multicultural prism so that being tolerant means being “non-judgemental” and not offending anyone. But this is profoundly illiberal and seriously curtails our freedom of speech. Criticism of other cultures on our campuses today results in the absurdity of the speaker being “no-platformed” or sacked.

JOHN CAMERON Howard Place, St Andrews