Boris Johnson claims Women Wearing Burkas Look Like 'Letter Boxes' and 'Bank Robbers'

Boris Johnson has sparked anger by claiming that women wearing burkas look like letter boxes and bank robbers. The former foreign secretary made the inflammatory comments in his Daily Telegraph column.

However, he insisted that the burka and other face-covering veils should not be banned in public.



He wrote: ‘If you tell me that the burka is oppressive, then I am with you. ‘If you say that it is weird and bullying to expect women to cover their faces, then I totally agree – and I would add that I can find no scriptural authority for the practice in the Koran.



‘I would go further and say that it is absolutely ridiculous that people should choose to go around looking like letter boxes.’



His comments have been furiously condemned by Muslim leaders and Labour, with MP David Lammy branding him a ‘pound-shop Donald Trump’.



Theresa May added her voice to calls for him to apologise – although she swerved questions about whether his comments amounted to Islamophobia.



Boris Johnson is refusing to apologise for the offensive comments he made about women who wear burkas.



The founder and president of the Conservative Muslim Forum Lord Sheikh has said that the Conservative Party should take ‘severe action’ against the former foreign secretary.