Theresa May calls on Boris Johnson to apologise for burka remarks
Former foreign secretary is accused of ‘dog-whistle’ Islamophobia after disparaging comments about Muslim women in burkas
Theresa May has waded into the row over Boris Johnson’s claim that Muslim women in burkas 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.
She urged people to be “very careful” about the language they used to discuss issues such as women wearing the burka, but stopped short of saying Johnson should have the whip withdrawn for his remarks.
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 burka, 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.
“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.”