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Mimi Launder
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No one needs yet another reminder why Boris Johnson should never have been let near international diplomacy, but he's happily coughed one up anyway.
The former foreign secretary has come under fire for comparing Muslim women in burqas to "letter boxes" and "bank robbers".
Labour has demanded Theresa May condemn "this blatant Islamaphobia", which Johnson expressed in an article for the Daily Telegraph.
Arguing it was wrong for Denmark to impose fines on those wearing a burka or niqab in the streets, he said:
I would go further and say it is absolutely ridiculous that people should choose to go around looking like letter boxes.
He also said that he would expect constituents to remove face coverings when talking to him at his MP's surgery:
If a female student turned up at school or at a university lecturer looking like a bank robber then ditto: those in authority should be allowed to converse openly with those that they are being asked to instruct.
Labour MP David Lammy called Johnson a "pound-shop Donald Trump" in light of the remarks:
Muslim women are having their burkas pulled off by thugs in our streets and Boris Johnson’s response is to mock them for ‘looking like letter boxes’.
Our pound-shop Donald Trump is fanning the flames of Islamophobia to propel his grubby electoral ambitions.
The internet was disturbed by the Islamophobic comments.
It’s not ok for Boris Johnson to compare niqab-wearing women to bank robbers and letter boxes. I’m sick of what we… https://t.co/JsjlFRSAK0— Aleesha Khaliq (@Aleesha Khaliq) 1533554900
How many blatantly racist statements is Boris Johnson allowed in his career before we accept he's a white supremaci… https://t.co/lidzmHPj2p— David Whitley (@David Whitley) 1533557166
Boris Johnson is a verbally flatulent clown— ines helene, ShroomGirl (@ines helene, ShroomGirl) 1533551868
The comments were eerily reminiscent of beliefs held by US right-winger and former Trump aide Steve Bannon, who Johnson appears to be in regular contact with.
"Mr Bannon, sir, it's Boris here, Boris Johnson. Is this the sort of thing you were talking about?" https://t.co/6qITCG4oWT— James Oh Brien (@James Oh Brien) 1533545378
If only there were some way of knowing what might have prompted Boris Johnson to fan hatred of Muslims? https://t.co/jCMLDfy9pk— David Schneider (@David Schneider) 1533557651
People picked out some other pressing problems too.
If student wearing a burqa went to a university lecture by Boris Johnson my only objection would be WHY IS BORIS JO… https://t.co/3ZD1EC866m— Dr Charlotte Lydia Riley (@Dr Charlotte Lydia Riley) 1533548324
I for one am cool with taking clothing tips from Boris Johnson (pictured) https://t.co/CO6BaOTEeZ— Katie Martin (@Katie Martin) 1533545926
Six years ago this week, Boris Johnson got stuck on a zipwire. How different our lives would be if he was still st… https://t.co/rCfcWEULvr— Charlie Proctor (@Charlie Proctor) 1533555910
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