Over 50% of voters say Johnson should escape rap
More than half of voters believe Boris Johnson should not face disciplinary action for his comments about the burka, according to a new poll.
The Comres survey for the Sunday Express found 53 per cent were opposed to punishment for the former foreign secretary, against 40 per cent who said he deserved to be disciplined.
The poll was released as Mr Johnson returned to the UK from a holiday in Italy amid an escalating civil war within the Conservative Party over his description of Muslim women in face-covering veils as looking like letter-boxes or bank robbers.
Brexit-backing MP Jacob Rees-mogg denounced the investigation launched into Mr Johnson’s remarks as a “show trial” motivated by Mrs May’s personal rivalry with a man many see as her likely successor.
The Sunday Times reported four Cabinet ministers had privately expressed dismay at the handling of the case. And Tory MP Andrew Bridgen, a supporter of Mr Johnson, warned of “open warfare” in the Conservative Party if he was suspended in such a way that he could not take part in a future leadership contest.
Mr Johnson made no comment to waiting reporters as he arrived back at his Oxfordshire home on Saturday evening.
Far-right US activist Steve Bannon, who was in contact with Mr Johnson during his
recent visit to the UK, urged him not to “bow at the altar of political correctness” by apologising.
The former aide to Donald Trump told the Sunday Times that Mr Johnson had “nothing to apologise for”.
Amid complaints from supporters of an attempt to gag Mr Johnson, the Comres poll found that 60 per cent of respondents believe that rights to free speech are being weakened, against just 5 per cent who said they were strengthening.
Support for Mr Johnson was markedly higher among older generations, with 77 per cent of over-65s and 63 per cent of 55-64 year-olds saying he should not face discipline, while 62 per cent of 18-24 yearolds and 55 per cent of those in the 25-34 age-group saying he should.
The poll found Theresa May remains voters’ preferred leader of the Conservatives, by a margin of 26 per cent to 24 per cent over Boris Johnson.
Former first secretary of state Damian Green, who was Mrs May’s de facto deputy, said he feared Mr Johnson was “being turned into a martyr by the alt-right”.