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Theresa May calls on Boris Johnson to say sorry for burqa remarks Theresa May calls on Boris Johnson to say sorry for burqa remarks
(35 minutes later)
Theresa May has waded into the row over Boris Johnson’s claim that Muslim women in burqas resemble letter boxes and bank robbers, urging the former foreign secretary to apologise after he defied an order to do so by Tory chiefs. Theresa May has rebuked Boris Johnson over his claim that Muslim women in burqas resemble letter boxes and bank robbers, urging the former foreign secretary to apologise after he defied an order to do so by Tory chiefs.
The prime minister said she agreed with the Conservative party chairman, Brandon Lewis, that Johnson should say sorry for his remarks, which she acknowledged had caused offence among the Muslim community. The prime minister said she agreed with the Conservative party chairman, Brandon Lewis, that Johnson should say sorry for his remarks, which she acknowledged had caused offence in the Muslim community.
She urged people to be “very careful” about the language they used to discuss issues such as women wearing the burqa, but stopped short of saying Johnson should have the whip withdrawn for his remarks. She urged people to be “very careful” about the language they used to discuss sensitive issues such as women wearing the burqa, but stopped short of saying Johnson’s comments were Islamophobic or that he should lose the Tory whip.
After a meeting with the Scottish first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, May told reporters: “I am very clear and the government is very clear about our position on the issue of the burqa, which is that women should be able to choose how to dress. It’s up to a woman to decide how to dress, it’s not up to other people to tell a woman how to dress. Her intervention came as Conservative party chiefs sought to dampen down the Islamophobia row that has re-erupted since Johnson’s remarks in response to Denmark’s introduction of a ban of burqas in public places.
“It’s right that we have discussion about issues like this, but in doing that we all have to be very careful about the language and the terms that we use. Some of the terms that Boris used in describing people’s appearance obviously have offended people, and so I agree with Brandon Lewis.” Sidestepping the question of whether the former foreign secretary was Islamophobic, May said: “I have said it’s very clear that anybody who is talking about this needs to think very carefully about the language that they use and the impact that language has had on people, and it is clear that the language that Boris used has offended people.”
Johnson is understood to view the instruction to apologise as an attempt to shut down debate on a difficult issue that should be tackled head-on. May was emphatic that women in the UK ought to be able to choose freely what they wanted to wear. “What is important is do we believe that people have the right to practice their religion, should have the right to choose – in the case of women, and the burqa and the niqab – how they dress,” she said.
One source close to the former foreign secretary said: “It is ridiculous that these views are being attacked – we must not fall into the trap of shutting down the debate on difficult issues. “I believe that a woman should have that right. It is absolutely that women should be able to choose how they dress and shouldn’t be told how to do it by other people. And I believe that all of us when we talk about these issues should be very careful about the language that we use.”
“We have to call it out. If we fail to speak up for liberal values then we are simply yielding ground to reactionaries and extremists.” Earlier, after a meeting in Edinburgh with the Scottish first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, May said: “Some of the terms that Boris used in describing people’s appearance obviously have offended people and so I agree with Brandon Lewis.”
Lewis’s remarks came after Alistair Burt, the minister for the Middle East, who worked under Johnson, described the comments as offensive and said he would never have said anything similar. On Tuesday night, Johnson – who is believed to be on holiday in Europe – continued to defy Lewis’s order via Twitter to apologise for his remarks. He is understood to view the instruction as an attempt to shut down debate on a difficult issue that should be tackled head-on.
I agree with @AlistairBurtUK. I have asked @BorisJohnson to apologise. https://t.co/RFExXO4LORI agree with @AlistairBurtUK. I have asked @BorisJohnson to apologise. https://t.co/RFExXO4LOR
The former Conservative chairman Sayeeda Warsi has accused Johnson of “dog-whistle” Islamophobia and criticised the lack of action by the party on the issue. However, Johnson faced criticism from both Tory politicians and Muslim groups for his comments, which some claimed were designed to pander to right-wing voters to bolster his future leadership chances. He came under fire recently for meeting Steve Bannon, the former adviser to Donald Trump.
In June, Lewis said diversity training would be offered to all members, and local associations would report back on how complaints were handled. “A single case of abuse is one too many, and since becoming chairman I have taken a zero-tolerance approach,” he said. The former Conservative chairman, Sayeeda Warsi, who has accused Johnson of “dog-whistle” Islamophobia, told Sky News on Tuesday: “Boris knew what he was doing when he made those comments, when he chose to use this very specific language he would know the impact and the effect it would have.”
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. She added: “I think Boris is making yet another leadership bid and he will do and say whatever needs to be done to make that as successful as he can. It’s a tragedy, there are many ways in which he could lay out his leadership bid, but I sincerely hope that he doesn’t continue to use Muslim women as a convenient political football to try and increase his poll ratings.”
Earlier, Burt told the BBC: “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.” The Tory party has been accused of a lack of action on tackling Islamophobia in its ranks after Lewis said in June that diversity training would be offered to all members, and local associations would report back on how complaints were handled. “A single case of abuse is one too many, and since becoming chairman I have taken a zero-tolerance approach,” Lewis said.
Before May’s intervention a number of Tory MPs had criticised Johnson’s remarks. Alistair Burt, the minister for the Middle East, who worked under Johnson, described them as offensive and said he would never have said anything similar.
He 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.”
Fiyaz Mughal, the founder of Tell Mama, which campaigns against anti-Muslim violence, said Johnson’s comments amounted to Islamophobia.Fiyaz Mughal, the founder of Tell Mama, which campaigns against anti-Muslim violence, said Johnson’s comments 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 Lewis for not doing more to tackle Islamophobia in the party. He suggested Muslims needed reassurance from Downing Street. Mohamed Sheikh, the founder of the Conservative Muslim Forum, set up to encourage British Muslims to get involved in political life, said Johnson’s comments were totally out of order.
“That reassurance should be coming quickly and effectively,” he said. “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.” “I don’t know whether this is his agenda to get the leadership of the Conservative party,” Lord Sheikh said. “Is he using Muslims as a springboard?”
Lord Sheikh, the founder of the Conservative Muslim Forum, set up to encourage British Muslims to get involved in political life, said Johnson’s comments were “totally out of order”. The shadow equalities minister, Naz Shah, said: “Boris Johnson’s comments were not just offensive, they were Islamophobic, but the prime minister is in denial. An apology is not enough, she needs to order an independent inquiry into Islamophobia in her party, as requested by the Muslim community, and take action against him.”
“It is not in good fun. It’s a joke but in very, very bad taste. A joke like this will harm the community relations,” he told BBC Radio 4’s World At One.
“I don’t know whether this is his agenda to get the leadership of the Conservative party. Is he using Muslims as a springboard?”
The shadow equalities minister, Naz Shah, said: “An apology isn’t good enough. Boris Johnson’s comments weren’t accidental, they were a calculated attack in a national newspaper, made weeks after he reportedly met with Steve Bannon.
“Clearly the Tory party has an issue with Islamophobia, but over 24 hours later, the prime minister is still yet to say a word. Theresa May must condemn Boris Johnson’s comments unequivocally and order an inquiry into Islamophobia in her party.”
In a letter to Lewis on Monday, Shah accused Johnson of “ugly and naked Islamophobia” and said Lewis should abide by his word to give Tory members diversity training to combat Islamophobia.
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.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 on 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.However, Johnson said he did not support a blanket ban on 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.
Johnson appeared not to have acknowledged the scale of anger caused by his language. He is understood to believe his article was a balanced piece simply pointing out that women should be free to wear the niqab if they choose, and the UK should not follow other countries in seeking a total ban.
Denmark introduced a burqa ban last week, with fines of about 1,000 krone (£120), following similar moves in France, Austria and Belgium.
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