Boris Johnson burka comments: Pressure builds on former foreign secretary after Tory Party launches investigation
Boris Johnson is to face an investigation by an independent panel following complaints that he breached the Conservative party’s code of conduct over his remarks about niqabs.
The former foreign secretary has faced intensifying pressure in the last two days after comparing Muslim women wearing the religious headgear to “letter boxes” and “bank robbers” in a column.
It his comments have left Tory MPs divided but both Theresa May and the party chairman, Brandon Lewis, have said Mr Johnson should apologise for the “offensive” remarks on Monday.
It came as the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments said it was “unacceptable” that Mr Johnson failed to obtain advanced clearance before resuming his Daily Telegraph column after resigning last month from the government.
The committee – responsible for vetting appointments by ex-ministers and senior civil servants – said Mr Johnson did not notify them until after signing a contract with the newspaper, in breach of the ministerial code.
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Regarding the investigation, a Labour Party source has told The Independent: "The Tory party is on trial. Either Boris is guilty or the Tories condone Islamophobia."
According to Sky News, 100 British Muslim women have requested Boris Johnson be thrown out of the Conservatives in a letter to Brandon Lewis, the chairman of the party.
The letter reads:
Dear Brandon Lewis,
We, the undersigned, write to you as British Muslim women who wear the niqab or burqa.
We speak as free women who are able to speak for ourselves and make our own choices. Our decision to wear the niqab or burqa is not an easy one, especially given the hate that many of us experience on a regular basis. Nevertheless we do so because we believe it is a means to get closer to God.
We recognise that this is not the practice of the majority of Muslim women and that it is a very small number who make this choice in the UK. All personal choices should be respected.
Contrary to what you may have been told by sections of the media and columnists who profess to know what is best for us, we are not forced to make these clothing choices, nor are we oppressed.
As women who wear the niqab or burqa, we have not forfeited our right to be treated fairly and as equal citizens in this country. Yet we have representatives of our governing party who think otherwise and who use Muslim women in order to pander to far-right Islamophobes within the party, as Boris Johnson has done.
We understand that you have requested Mr Johnson to apologise.
As chairman of a party that seeks to represent the whole country, which protects individual liberty as a cherished British value, your call - we believe - is insufficient.
Given a deliberate choice was made to inflame tensions in a way that makes it easier for bigots to justify hate crime against us, we concur with Conservative peer, Lord Sheikh, who has demanded the whip be withdrawn from Mr Johnson.
Furthermore, given the responses from other MPs, specifically Ms Dorries, and the broader concerns that have been raised by the Muslim Council of Britain amongst others, we believe that there must now be an independent inquiry into Islamophobia in the Party to tackle this issue once and for all.
Our rights as equal citizens may be debated within wider society, but such vile language which has real consequences for us, should never be acceptable.
The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments has said it was "unacceptable" that Boris Johnson failed to obtain advance clearance before resuming his Daily Telegraph column after resigning as foreign secretary.
The committee - responsible for vetting appointments by ex-ministers and senior civil servants - said that Mr Johnson did not notify them until after signing a contract with the newspaper, in breach of the Ministerial Code.
Labour's shadow minister for the Cabinet Office, Jon Tricket, said: “Boris Johnson’s flagrant breach of the rules shows the utter contempt he has for democracy and ridding politics of vested interests, and raises serious questions about why he was so desperate to start writing for the Telegraph again.
“The system is clearly not working when the former Foreign Secretary can simply ignore the official body that oversees appointments seemingly without any consequences.
“A drastic overhaul of this toothless body is urgently needed so we can put an end to politicians and the establishment working only for the interests of themselves.”
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