Yahoo News Jess Phillips says Boris Johnson too embarrassed by 'letterboxes' comment to look her in the eye
![The Bank of England governor has rubbished a key Boris Johnson claim for avoiding economic damage after a no-deal Brexit, in a severe blow to the Tory leadership favourite.Mr Johnson dismissed fears about crashing out of the EU by arguing the UK could still enjoy tariff-free trade under what is known as “Gatt 24”, until a permanent agreement was struck.But Mark Carney pointed out the trade law could only be invoked if there was an agreement in place – and the central point of a no-deal Brexit was the absence of a deal.“The Gatt rules are clear. Gatt 24 applies if you have a [withdrawal] agreement, not if you've decided not to have an agreement, or you have been unable to come to an agreement,” he told the BBC.“We should be clear that not having an agreement with the European Union would mean that there are tariffs, automatically – because the Europeans have to apply the same rules to us as they apply to everyone else.”Alistair Burt, a former minister and supporter of Jeremy Hunt, Mr Johnson’s rival, said: “You have got to be on top of the detail – no-deal would be very dangerous.”He pointed out the gaffe came after Mr Johnson had stumbled over his plan for huge tax cuts for high earners when the impact on taxpayers in Scotland was revealed.To use Article 24 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (Gatt) – avoiding tariffs on goods – a trade agreement must be agreed in principle, rather than be an aspiration.Its use also needs the two sides to agree, meaning the UK could not simply impose it on the EU after a crash-out departure.During Tuesday night’s TV debate, Mr Johnson was challenged by Rory Stewart on the import taxes – and therefore border controls – that would be required on agricultural goods crossing to and from the Republic.He replied: “There will be no tariffs, there will be no quotas, because what we want to do is get a standstill in our current arrangements under Gatt 24 – or whatever it happens to be – until such time that we have negotiated an FTA [Free Trade Agreement].”The answer appeared to betray the former foreign secretary’s lack of detailed knowledge, a persistent criticism of his record in office.more follows](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/.o1UiBqwTPRKMPjwyp8zYA--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTcyMA--/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the_independent_577/27b83f367755b1be57c7c22a2c28ac13)
![The Bank of England governor has rubbished a key Boris Johnson claim for avoiding economic damage after a no-deal Brexit, in a severe blow to the Tory leadership favourite.Mr Johnson dismissed fears about crashing out of the EU by arguing the UK could still enjoy tariff-free trade under what is known as “Gatt 24”, until a permanent agreement was struck.But Mark Carney pointed out the trade law could only be invoked if there was an agreement in place – and the central point of a no-deal Brexit was the absence of a deal.“The Gatt rules are clear. Gatt 24 applies if you have a [withdrawal] agreement, not if you've decided not to have an agreement, or you have been unable to come to an agreement,” he told the BBC.“We should be clear that not having an agreement with the European Union would mean that there are tariffs, automatically – because the Europeans have to apply the same rules to us as they apply to everyone else.”Alistair Burt, a former minister and supporter of Jeremy Hunt, Mr Johnson’s rival, said: “You have got to be on top of the detail – no-deal would be very dangerous.”He pointed out the gaffe came after Mr Johnson had stumbled over his plan for huge tax cuts for high earners when the impact on taxpayers in Scotland was revealed.To use Article 24 of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (Gatt) – avoiding tariffs on goods – a trade agreement must be agreed in principle, rather than be an aspiration.Its use also needs the two sides to agree, meaning the UK could not simply impose it on the EU after a crash-out departure.During Tuesday night’s TV debate, Mr Johnson was challenged by Rory Stewart on the import taxes – and therefore border controls – that would be required on agricultural goods crossing to and from the Republic.He replied: “There will be no tariffs, there will be no quotas, because what we want to do is get a standstill in our current arrangements under Gatt 24 – or whatever it happens to be – until such time that we have negotiated an FTA [Free Trade Agreement].”The answer appeared to betray the former foreign secretary’s lack of detailed knowledge, a persistent criticism of his record in office.more follows](https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/rY1uE0zVvr9zu25m30w4Uw--/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTcyMA--/https://media.zenfs.com/en/the_independent_577/3759f287406eb6139d5905646f0bd7e7)
A Labour MP says Boris Johnson is too embarrassed by his notorious description of Muslim women as “letterboxes” to look her in the eye.
Jess Phillips described the clear Tory leadership favourite as a “chastened child whenever I see him” who “shuffles uncomfortably and looks at the ground”.
She also warned that Muslim women were “frightened for their country” by the growing likelihood that Mr Johnson will succeed Theresa May in Downing Street.
“He can't even take me looking at him in the eye. He's a bullies’ patsy with no guts,” Mr Phillips said, on her chance encounters in the Commons corridors.
The criticism comes after the jeering, at his campaign launch, of a journalist who said Mr Johnson’s comments about Muslim women had made fellow Tories question if he was “fit to be prime minister”.
Supporters of the former foreign secretary turned on a reporter, who asked if he had brought “shame on your party”, the heckling, coming from a group which included Conservative MPs.
In the column last year, Mr Johnson said wearing the burka was “looking like a bank robber”, adding: “It is absolutely ridiculous that people should choose to go around looking like letterboxes.”
Ms Phillips, an MP in Birmingham, tweeted: “I pass Boris Johnson in the corridors a lot. He shuffles uncomfortably and looks at the ground.
“On one occasion before the Tory conference in Birmingham, I said to him that I hope the Muslim women in my city show him how welcome he is there. Again he shuffled uncomfortably,” she claimed.
"He does not defend his position, he looks like a chastened child whenever I see him. He's being told to say these things by a racist machine.”
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