Carwyn hits out at ‘racist’ burka attacks
FIRST Minister Carwyn Jones has accused former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Ukip Assembly leader Gareth Bennett of “attacking” Muslim women for political advantage.
The Welsh Labour leader issued a statement yesterday as controversy continues over comments the two men have made about burkas.
Mr Johnson last week used a newspaper column to say it was “absolutely ridiculous that people should choose to go around looking like letter boxes” and described women wearing the veil as resembling
“a bank robber”.
Mr Bennett, who last week was elected to lead Ukip in the Assembly, later described women wearing the veil as “apparitions of pre-medieval culture” on ITV Wales on Sunday.
Warning of the “dangerous” consequences of their comments, Mr Jones said: “We have to ask why Gareth Bennett and Boris Johnson are attacking Muslim women. It is clear to me that they are doing this solely to raise their own profile, to gain political advantage.
“But, despite their purely
selfish motivations, their language has a broader, dangerous impact – it results in Muslim women being abused in the street.
“It legitimises xenophobic conversation and, ultimately, leads to further division and mistrust. This benefits nobody except Bennett and Johnson.”
He continued: “The language they are using is dangerously irresponsible. It is racist.
“This is not how elected politicians in positions of responsibility should behave.
“The Welsh Government will not be silent in the face of these grim provocations. We will redouble our efforts to create cohesive communities, to help people feel safe, and not just to tolerate – but to celebrate diversity.”
Both Prime Minister Theresa May and Conservative chairman Brandon Lewis have pushed Mr Johnson to apologise.
Mr Bennett, who last week was elected to lead Ukip in the Assembly, ignited further controversy when he described women wearing the veil as “apparitions of premedieval culture”.
Stating that when in Cardiff he could feel like he was in Saudi Arabia, he said: “It’s certainly not a pleasant feeling for many people in Britain, who are British and regard themselves as having British values, to be confronted by these apparitions which seem to be of some kind of pre-medieval culture.”
Mr Bennett responded to the First Minister’s comments yesterday, saying: “There’s a dangerous ideology behind the wearing of these garments and I agree with Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali’s comments this morning [Monday], where he said that Islamists are weaponising the burka and niqab to impose their own version of radical Islam on communities.
“Recent opinion polls show that a majority of British people actually aren’t comfortable with the burka and niqab being worn, and I won’t be closed down by minority groups or a hypocritical Left seeking their own political gain by trying to stifle free speech.”
Mr Bennett was referencing Anglican Bishop Nazir-Ali’s comments to the Mail on Sunday, where he said: “It is true that some women choose to wear the burka or niqab because they feel it makes them more observant Muslims...
“It is also true, however, that the burka or niqab is being weaponised by Islamists to impose what they consider to be ‘Islamic’ character on communities, neighbourhoods and even nations.
“In Britain, this has serious implications for the freedom of women, but it also has implications for integration and social cohesion. Where there is widespread use of the face veil, there will be greater isolation from one another and a sense of segregation will grow.”
Welsh Labour leadership hopeful Alun Davies said on his blog it was time to take a tougher approach to Ukip in the Assembly.
He said: “We can no longer ignore them hoping that they will go away. Or even blame the electoral system for their election.
“People voted for Ukip because we failed to win the arguments against them.”
The Blaenau Gwent AM added: “The alternative is that this hatred, venom and this rancour will enter the Welsh political discourse and will become a normalised part of our political experience.”
Christine Hamilton, the wife of Mid and West Wales Ukip AM Neil Hamilton, was dropped as an ambassador for Muscular Dystrophy UK after posting an image on Twitter on Friday of the Ku Klux Klan with the message: “If the #burka is acceptable then presumably this is too?”
Ms Hamilton responded to the backlash, saying: “For heaven’s sake – no, I am not comparing Muslim women to KKK members and yes, thank you, I do know the difference.”
She said in a statement issued yesterday: “I am sorry to end my connection with MDUK as I greatly enjoyed working with them in the last 10 years or so.
“They are a wonderful charity. I was graphically illustrating how full facial cover can be sinister, as very large numbers of people believe.
“My political opinions are mine alone and I never seek to associate any of my charities with them.”
The Muslim Council of Wales has criticised Mr Bennett, saying: “Like Boris Johnson, he has used his privileged platform as a politician to attack a religious minority over an item of clothing.”