BORIS Johnson's comments on Muslim women wearing the burka have been branded "inflammatory and divisive" by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
The watchdog said he risked “dehumanising and vilifying” Muslims after he said those who wear face veils look like “bank robbers” and “letter boxes” – sparking accusations of Islamophobia.
It comes as Mr Johnson received unexpected support from Blackadder star Rowan Atkinson, who insisted he should not apologise for the remarks because they were a “pretty good” joke.
READ MORE: Blackadder star Rowan Atkinson backs Boris Johnson over Muslim comments
Meanwhile, the Conservative Party's announcement on Thursday that Mr Johnson will face an inquiry has provoked a furious war of words, with many Tories regarding the move as an over-reaction.
Prime Minister Theresa May has called on him to say sorry, but former chief whip Andrew Mitchell said there was no need for the former foreign secretary to apologise for his "colourful" language.
In a letter to The Times, Mr Atkinson – one of Britain’s best-loved comedians – threw his weight behind Mr Johnson.
He wrote: “As a lifelong beneficiary of the freedom to make jokes about religion, I do think that Boris Johnson’s joke about wearers of the burka resembling letter boxes is a pretty good one.
“An almost perfect visual simile and a joke that, whether Mr Johnson apologises or not, will stay in the public consciousness for some time to come.
“All jokes about religion cause offence, so it’s pointless apologising for them. You should really only apologise for a bad joke. On that basis, no apology is required.”
The Mr Bean star has previously campaigned for the right to mock religion.
Rebecca Hilsenrath, chief executive of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said the effectiveness of a democratic society depends on freedom of expression and “the expression of offensive and intolerant opinions is generally not unlawful”.
READ MORE: Boris Johnson broke ministerial rules by signing Daily Telegraph contract
But she added: "Boris Johnson's use of language in this instance, which risks dehumanising and vilifying Muslim women, is inflammatory and divisive.
"Political figures should lead by example, conducting debates in a responsible manner and language such as this can inhibit legitimate dialogue.
"The Conservative party has decided to conduct an investigation and will consider whether further action is necessary."
Mr Johnson, who is holidaying abroad, has so far made no response to the launch of the Tory investigation.
Disciplinary action could lead to him being suspended or even expelled, but would risk igniting civil war – with many MPs seeing him as a future leader.
The Uxbridge and South Ruislip MP made the controversial remarks in his Daily Telegraph column earlier this week, and has so far refused to back down.
He wrote that he did not support Denmark’s recent ban on face veils in public, but mocked the wearing of burkas.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon accused him of "Islamophobia" and "dog whistle politics".
Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson backed calls for him to apologise, branding the comments "gratuitously offensive".
She said: "I think that this wasn't an off-the-cuff slip, he wrote a column, he knew exactly what he was doing and I think it crossed from being provocative and starting a debate and actually it became rude and gratuitous."
It comes as a YouGov poll for The Times found the Tories are now four points ahead of Labour, despite the row over Mr Johnson’s comments.
READ MORE: Protesters demand Boris Johnson quits in burka comments row
The survey found 39 per cent of the public would vote Tory, an increase of one point on the previous week when both parties were level.
Labour, which has faced continued pressure over its handling of antisemitism in the party, fell three points to 35%.
Theresa May was 14 points ahead of Jeremy Corbyn, up seven points on last week, on the question of who would make the best prime minister.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel