Boris Johnson cleared of breaching Tory Party rules with comments over women in burkas

Boris Johnson has been cleared of breaking the Conservative Party’s code of conduct over comments he made about veiled Muslim women in a newspaper column.

The former foreign secretary fell under fire after he suggested women wearing the burka looked like letter boxes or bank robbers in a Daily Telegraph column, prompting demands for an apology from Tory party chairman Brandon Lewis.

But an independent panel has reportedly cleared Mr Johnson of breaking party rules, finding that he was “respectful and tolerant” and was fully entitled to use “satire” to make his point.

Following an investigation, triggered after the receipt of a number of complaints over the column, the panel reported found that while Mr Johnson’s use of language in the column could be considered “provocative”, it would be “unwise to censor excessively the language of party representatives or the use of satire to emphasise a viewpoint, particularly a viewpoint that is not subject to criticism”.

According to the Daily Telegraph the panel, chaired by Naomi Ellenbogen QC, said tat Tory party rules do not “override an individual’s right to freedom of expression”.

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In the article, Mr Johnson said he felt “fully entitled” to expect women to remove face coverings when talking to him at his MP’s surgery and schools and universities should be able to take the same approach if a student “turns up … looking like a bank robber”.

The former Foreign Secretary said the burka was “oppressive” and it was “absolutely ridiculous that people should choose to go around looking like letter boxes”.

Following the ruling, a friend of Mr Johnson’s reportedly called for Mr Lewis to “do the honourable thing” and apologise, saying: “It is welcome news that Boris has rightly been cleared of any breach of the code.

“The panel’s ruling completely supported what Boris said from the very beginning – his article did foster respect and tolerance for the wearing of the burka.

“Perhaps Mr Lewis will now do the honourable thing and apologise to Boris with the same zeal he shamelessly used to smear his name during the summer.”