Conservative chairman tells Boris Johnson to apologise for comparing Muslim women in burqas to 'letter boxes'

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LONDON - The Conservative Party chairman has told Boris Johnson to apologise for comparing Muslim women who wear burqas to "letter boxes" and bank robbers.

Brandon Lewis said on Tuesday that he had asked  Johnson to apologise for his remarks, which saw the former Foreign Secretary branded a "pound-shop Donald Trump".

Johnson wrote in the Telegraph on Monday that the burqa was "oppressive" and added: "It is absolutely ridiculous that people should choose to go around looking like letter boxes."

He added that any female student who appeared at school or in a lecture "looking like a bank robber" should be asked to remove it, but stopped short of calling for a full ban.

His comments were criticises by Conservative Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt on Tuesday. 

Burt worked with Johnson before the latter resigned as Foreign Secretary in July in protest at Theresa May's Brexit plans.

"Bigot"

Johnson's comments - widely interpreted as part of a pitch to the Tory grassroots for a potential leadership bid - caused widespread outrage on Monday. 

Conservative grandee Baroness Warsi, a former co-chair of the party, said he was using Muslim women as "a convenient political football to increase poll ratings amongst the Tory faithful".

Labour MP David Lammy described Johnson's actions to those of a "pound-shop [Donald] Trump.""Muslim women are having their burkas pulled off by thugs in our streets & Boris Johnson's response is to mock them for 'looking like letter boxes,'" the Labour MP said on Monday.

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