This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/aug/07/boris-johnsons-burqa-remarks-offensive-foreign-office-minister-alistair-burt
The article has changed 20 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Boris Johnson's burqa remarks offensive, says Foreign Office minister | Boris Johnson's burqa remarks offensive, says Foreign Office minister |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A Foreign Office minister has condemned as “offensive” Boris Johnson’s claim that Muslim women in burqas resemble letter boxes and bank robbers. | A Foreign Office minister has condemned as “offensive” Boris Johnson’s claim that Muslim women in burqas resemble letter boxes and bank robbers. |
| Alistair Burt, the minister of state for the Middle East, who worked under the former foreign secretary, said he would never have made such a comment. | Alistair Burt, the minister of state for the Middle East, who worked under the former foreign secretary, said he would never have made such a comment. |
| The former Conservative party chair Sayeeda Warsi has accused Johnson of “dog-whistle” Islamophobia and criticised the lack of action by the party on the issue. | The former Conservative party chair Sayeeda Warsi has accused Johnson of “dog-whistle” Islamophobia and criticised the lack of action by the party on the issue. |
| Burt’s intervention makes him the most senior Tory frontbencher to publicly criticise Johnson, and will put Theresa May under pressure to condemn the inflammatory remarks. | |
| Johnson’s comments, in response to Denmark’s introduction of a ban on burqas in public places, prompted an angry reaction from Muslim organisations and MPs, who accused him of stoking Islamophobia for political gain. | |
| Burt told the BBC that Johnson had been defending Muslim women’s right to wear the religious dress. But he added: “I would never have made such a comment. I think there is a degree of offence in that, absolutely right. | Burt told the BBC that Johnson had been defending Muslim women’s right to wear the religious dress. But he added: “I would never have made such a comment. I think there is a degree of offence in that, absolutely right. |
| “What he was trying to make a serious point about is that the UK government will not enforce any kind of clothing restriction on anyone. I wish he hadn’t accompanied it with a comment that I certainly wouldn’t make and I think many people would find offensive, yes.” | |
| Fiyaz Mughal, the founder of Tell MAMA UK, which campaigns against anti-Muslim violence, said Johnson’s comments “clearly” amounted to Islamophobia. | |
| “These are the kind of comments we have seen that have been made by extremist far-right groups and people who have been maliciously attacking Muslims, so clearly it does fit that bracket,” he said. | “These are the kind of comments we have seen that have been made by extremist far-right groups and people who have been maliciously attacking Muslims, so clearly it does fit that bracket,” he said. |
| Mughal criticised the “sheer flippancy” of Johnson’s comments and criticised the Tory chairman, Brandon Lewis, for not doing more to tackle Islamophobia in the party. He suggested the Muslim community wanted reassurance from Downing Street. | Mughal criticised the “sheer flippancy” of Johnson’s comments and criticised the Tory chairman, Brandon Lewis, for not doing more to tackle Islamophobia in the party. He suggested the Muslim community wanted reassurance from Downing Street. |
| “That reassurance should be coming quickly and effectively. It’s now 24 hours that have gone by, the message that members of the Muslim community get is their concerns are not taken into account,” he said. | “That reassurance should be coming quickly and effectively. It’s now 24 hours that have gone by, the message that members of the Muslim community get is their concerns are not taken into account,” he said. |
| In his column for the Telegraph on Monday, Johnson said Muslim women wearing burqas looked like bank robbers and that schools and universities should be entitled to tell students to remove them. | In his column for the Telegraph on Monday, Johnson said Muslim women wearing burqas looked like bank robbers and that schools and universities should be entitled to tell students to remove them. |
| He said it was “absolutely ridiculous” that wearers should “go around looking like letter boxes”, and he would expect his constituents to remove them in his MP’s surgery. | |
| However, Johnson said he did not support a blanket ban the face veil in the UK. “You risk turning people into martyrs, and you risk a general crackdown on any public symbols of religious affiliation, and you may simply make the problem worse,” he wrote. | |
| Denmark introduced a burqa ban last week, with fines of around 1,000 krone (£120), after similar moves in France, Austria and Belgium. | Denmark introduced a burqa ban last week, with fines of around 1,000 krone (£120), after similar moves in France, Austria and Belgium. |
| Boris Johnson | Boris Johnson |
| Islamic veil | Islamic veil |
| Islam | Islam |
| Religion | Religion |
| Conservatives | |
| news | news |
| Share on Facebook | Share on Facebook |
| Share on Twitter | Share on Twitter |
| Share via Email | Share via Email |
| Share on LinkedIn | Share on LinkedIn |
| Share on Pinterest | Share on Pinterest |
| Share on Google+ | Share on Google+ |
| Share on WhatsApp | Share on WhatsApp |
| Share on Messenger | Share on Messenger |
| Reuse this content | Reuse this content |