No criticism of Muslims allowed

Boris Johnson has sparked outrage after saying women who wear burqas look like “letter boxes” and bank robbers.

Britain Prime Minister Theresa May has joined calls for her former Foreign Secretary to apologise for the remarks, made in a newspaper column earlier this week.

Mr Johnson, who left Mrs May’s government last month in a dispute over Brexit, disparaged burka wearers in a column that, ironically, defended their right to wear the full face veil.

He said he opposed banning burqas and other face covering garments but felt it was “absolutely ridiculous that people should choose to go around looking like letter boxes.”

Mr Johnson’s remarks came after Denmark last week followed France, Germany, Austria and Belgium in banning face-coverings in public places.

In a column for Britain’s Telegraph newspaper Mr Johnson said he felt “fully entitled” to expect women to remove face coverings when talking to him at his MP’s surgery, and said schools and universities should be able to take the same approach if a student ”turns up … looking like a bank robber.”

His article drew criticism from Muslim groups and fellow politicians. Mohamed Sheikh, founder of the Conservative Muslim Forum, said the article had been “totally out of order.” Middle East Minister Alistair Burt criticised Mr Johnson for comments he said “many people would find offensive.”

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Jacob Rees-Mogg on the Boris Johnson burka row:

‘It's hard to see what he should apologise for. He has defended people's right to wear the burka whilst saying it is an inelegent garment. Neither of those two proposals are unreasonable’