Bangladeshi-origin MP Rupa Huq has become the latest politician to join calls for former British foreign secretary Boris Johnson to apologise for comparing burqa-clad women to letter boxes in his newspaper column.
The Bangladeshi-origin Labour party MP for Ealing in west London attacked the Conservative party MP for his comments, which she said were further proof of Islamophobia in Britain’s ruling party's ranks.
"Boris Johnson is not in a 1970s style 'mind your language' sitcom. He’s supposed to be a statesman and we’re in the 21st century. I’m not a fan of the burqa either but this quote is reprehensible on so many levels,” Huq said.
"I’m appalled at him, a middle class portly white man telling women what they should and shouldn’t wear. Here we have proof, if further proof were needed, that the Tories have a problem with Islamophobia," she added.
Her comments came as pressure continues to mount on Johnson to apologise for his comments, including from British Prime Minister Theresa May who admitted that it was clear the column had “caused offence” and backed Conservative party chairman Brandon Lewis’ earlier call for an apology.
"I agree with Brandon Lewis [on an apology]. Some of the terms Boris used describing people's appearance obviously have offended,” the British PM said.
“What's important is do we believe people should have the right to practise their religion and, in the case of women and the burqa and niqab, to choose how they dress. I believe women should be able to choose how they dress," she said.
As Johnson seemed adamant to not react to the mounting controversy, a senior Tory party Muslim peer called for him to be kicked out of the party over his remarks. Lord Sheikh said the party whip should be taken away from the former Cabinet minister, which would mean Johnson would no longer sit in the House of Commons as a Conservative party MP.
"Take the whip from him. Why not? He's not a super human being, he's a member of the party,” Sheikh said.
"The party chairman, the Prime Minister has the right to take the whip... that's the thing I'd like to see," he added.
Another UK minister, culture secretary Jeremy Wright, also agreed that the words used by his former Cabinet colleague were ill-judged. Wright said that while there was no reason not to have a "robust conversation", as “public figures and we have an additional obligation to be careful”.
In his regular column in ‘The Daily Telegraph’ published on Monday, Johnson had laid out his views against a complete ban on Islamic clothing in line with the recent burqa ban in Denmark.
"If you tell me that the burka [burqa] is oppressive, then I am with you… I would go further and say that it is absolutely ridiculous that people should choose to go around looking like letter boxes," he wrote.
He said businesses and government agencies in the UK should be able to "enforce a dress code" that allowed them to see people's faces.
“If a female student turned up at school or at a university lecture looking like a bank robber then… those in authority should be allowed to converse openly with those that they are being asked to instruct,” he wrote.
But added: "Such restrictions are not quite the same as telling a free-born adult woman what she may or may not wear, in a public place, when she is simply minding her own business."
Johnson, MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip in London and a former mayor of the city, has been seen as a potential candidate for the leadership of the Conservatives since becoming the party’s poster boy for the pro-Brexit group.
While Johnson himself has chosen not to react so far, a source close to the former foreign secretary has said that it is "ridiculous" that his views were being "attacked".
"We have to call it out. If we fail to speak up for liberal values then we are simply yielding ground to reactionaries and extremists," the source said.
