Must not mention that Obama is 'part Kenyan'

Boris Johnson was accused of 'dog whistle racism' and likened to right-wing 'Tea Party' politicians in the US this morning after his attack on the 'part-Kenyan' Barack Obama.

The Mayor of London spoke out against the US President after he urged British voters to stay in the EU and mentioned his African ancestry as he criticised the decision to remove a bust of Sir Winston Churchill from the Oval Office shortly after Mr Obama entered the White House.

Mr Johnson - who is favourite to succeed David Cameron as Prime Minister - suggested the President got rid of the statue as a 'snub' to Britain's wartime prime minister and a 'symbol of the part-Kenyan President's ancestral dislike of the British empire'.

But Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell hit out at Mr Johnson and demanded he withdraw the controversial remarks.

He wrote on Twitter: 'Mask slips again. Boris part-Kenyan Obama comment is yet another example of dog whistle racism from senior Tories. He should withdraw it.'

This afternoon Mr Johnson defended his remarks and said he did not imply the US leader was anti-British.

Diane Abbott, Shadow International Development Secretary, hit out at Mr Johnson, describing his remarks as 'offensive' and said they echoed those of the Tea Party's right-wing, anti-immigration tendency in the US.

Referring to the removal of Sir Winston's bust, Mr Johnson wrote in The Sun today : 'No one was sure whether the President had himself been involved in the decision,' he said.

'Some said it was a snub to Britain. Some said it was a symbol of the part-Kenyan President's ancestral dislike of the British empire - of which Churchill had been such a fervent defender.'

'I think the issue really is about democracy - America guards its democracy very jealously and I think we should be entitled to do so as well.'

Ukip leader Nigel Farage backed up Mr Johnson's claims. He told The Guardian: 'Look, I know his family's background. Kenya. Colonialism. There is clearly something going on there.

'It's just that you know people emerge from colonialism with different views of the British. Some thought that they were really rather benign and rather good, and others saw them as foreign invaders.  'Obama's family come from that second school of thought and it hasn't quite left him yet.'

Mr Johnson's attack on the President came after Mr Obama's controversial decision to make a major intervention in the EU referendum campaign.

SOURCE