Boris Johnson didn't commit a crime when he said women in burkas look like letterboxes, Met Police chief says

Alexandra Richards9 August 2018

Met Police chief Cressida Dick has said Boris Johnson “did not commit a crime” when he described women in burkas as looking like letter boxes.

The Commissioner said on Thursday that while many people have found the former secretary’s comments offensive, he "did not commit a criminal offence".

Mr Johnson is under increasing pressure to apologise after comparing women who wear burkas to letter boxes while writing his column for the Daily Telegraph.

He came out against calls for a ban on the face-covering veils in public places, but described them as "absolutely ridiculous" and compared their wearers to "rebellious teenagers".

Boris Johnson rides his bike through London on Tuesday
AFP/Getty Images

When asked what she made of the language the former foreign secretary used, Ms Dick told the BBC Asian Network: "Some people have clearly found it offensive.

"I spoke last night to my very experienced officers who deal with hate crime and, although we have not yet received any allegation of such a crime, I can tell you that my preliminary view having spoken to them is that what Mr Johnson said would not reach the bar for a criminal offence. He did not commit a criminal offence."

Protests in Copenhagen on Wednesday after the face veil ban was implemented
EPA

Mr Johnson's comments which were made in response to the introduction of a burka ban in Denmark, sparked an angry response from Muslim groups and MPs who accused him of stoking Islamophobia for political gain.

The assistant secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain Miqdaad Versi said Mr Johnson was "pandering to the far right", while Labour MP David Lammy branded him a "pound-shop Donald Trump".

Pressure is mounting on the Conservative Party leadership to decide whether to take action against the former Foreign Secretary for his controversial comments about Muslim women wearing burkas.

Cressida Dick pictured at Scotland Yard said Boris Johnson had not committed an offence
Lucy Young

Two days after party chairman Brandon Lewis ordered him to apologise, Mr Johnson was maintaining his silence on a holiday break as supporters and critics exchanged blows.

The founder of the Conservative Muslim Forum, Lord Sheikh, has written to Mr Lewis demanding "serious action", while the call for an apology has been backed by Cabinet ministers including Jeremy Wright and Penny Mordaunt as well as Prime Minister Theresa May herself.

Disciplinary action could lead to Mr Johnson being suspended or even expelled if he was found to be in breach of the Tory code of conduct, but would risk igniting civil war in a party many of whose members see him as the best option to succeed Mrs May as leader.

Additional reporting by Press Association

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in