Theresa May’s censure of Boris Johnson betrays her twisted priorities
SIR – The Prime Minister went behind the back of her responsible Cabinet colleague to produce an alternative White Paper on Brexit.
She then summoned her Cabinet colleagues to Chequers to rubberstamp that White Paper, having taken it for approval in Berlin by Angela Merkel, before her colleagues had even seen it. This week, she has spent £100,000 of hard-earned party funds to circulate individual members with a mendacious interpretation of her White Paper.
Now, she has arraigned a senior parliamentary colleague, in his absence abroad, for investigation on anonymous allegations of racism, Islamophobia and sexism. For what? For journalistically expressing his opinion that women should be entitled to wear what they see fit, and opposing a burka ban, while considering the garment ridiculous, making its wearers reminiscent of a letter box.
In 50 years of mostly voluntary service to the Conservative Party, I have never known such discourtesy and malevolence. Theresa May has indeed created a nasty party. She is at best an embarrassment, and at worst a humiliation for our great party and country. Enough is enough. She must go. Jacques Arnold
President, Tonbridge and Malling Conservative Association West Malling, Kent
SIR – The recent heatwave has made wasps angry, causing them to sting people. It appears to have had the same effect on critics of Boris Johnson.
Let’s hope the cooling rain brings some common sense with it. Anne Thomson
Horncastle, Lincolnshire
SIR – Parliament is meant to be on holiday. Please would all politicians get back to the pool and leave us to enjoy what’s left of the summer?
They can carry on “fiddling while Rome burns” in the autumn. Mark Dowie
Kingsbridge, Devon SIR – Boris Johnson is never too shy to use colourful and even offensive language. His recent remarks about Muslim women are just another example of that.
That said, the subject of the full face veil does merit a serious public debate. The tradition of wearing the burka and the niqab has absolutely no connection with Islam, but it reflects the inherent culture of subjugation of women in Muslim societies in the name of protecting female dignity.
What is more, facial recognition is essential for conducting a conversation. This becomes impossible where a person’s face is entirely or even partly obscured.
Most crucially, the full face veil engenders a serious security risk to our societies, specially in the present climate of terrorism. It is this risk that so many European democracies are attempting to address by imposing a ban on wearing the burka and the niqab in public places.