Institutionally racist Conservative Party rules Boris Johnson’s anti-Muslim comments ‘respectful’ and ‘tolerant’
The Conservative Party’s code of conduct has found it was “respectful” and “tolerant” for Boris Johnson to suggest that Muslim women who wear the burqa look like “bank robbers” and “letterboxes”.
He was always going to get away with it. Despite – or maybe due to – his bumbling facade, he is a popular figure among the Tory faithful and the public at large, and it would be a vicious blow to that party’s credibility if this senior member was found to be an Islamophobe.
It seems an “independent” panel has investigated comments made by the former Foreign Secretary in a column he wrote for the Daily Telegraph. He claimed the burqa was “oppressive” and it was “absolutely ridiculous that people should choose to go around looking like letter boxes”. The investigation into whether he broke party rules was triggered automatically after the receipt of a number of complaints over the column.
The panel, chaired by Naomi Ellenbogen QC, found that while his 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”.
“Not subject to criticism”?
The Muslim Council of Britain holds a sharply alternative view. It said the Conservatives had “given a licence to bigotry” – and the evidence suggests the claim is correct. The watchdog organisation Tell Mama, which records hate crimes, said there was a “direct link” between the comments and an increase in incidents targeting women who wear the burqa.
In a statement, the MCB said: “Mr Johnson is not a satirist – he is a member of parliament, and as such has a responsibility to set the tone for the rest of the UK to follow. In this case, it is far-right Islamophobes who have been empowered to follow his rhetoric.
“The MCB further fails to see how Mr Johnson’s remarks were ‘respectful’ and ‘tolerant’ as the panel has concluded.
“In a year where over half of all Home Office recorded hate crimes targeted Muslims, over a hundred women who choose to wear the niqab or burqa wrote to the Conservative party chair to express the daily threat they face as a result of the prejudice whipped up by Mr Johnson.”
The whitewash hasn’t rubbed off on the social media commentators either:
So
Boris Johnson gets away with it AGAIN !— Clare Hepworth OBE (@Hepworthclare) December 21, 2018
https://twitter.com/SidUnite/status/1076020013667180544
Some drew a comparison with the claim that Jeremy Corbyn had called Tory leader (and current prime minister) Theresa May a “stupid woman”:
‘Stupid woman’ is horrendous and dominates the news cycle for over a day. Mocking women who wear veils as ‘letterboxes’ is fine though, even if it leads to racist attacks. https://t.co/iXvisw7vqE
— Peter Jukes (@peterjukes) December 21, 2018
So the Conservatives have ruled Boris Johnson comparing Muslim women in veils to letter boxes and bank robbers was 'respectful’ and ‘tolerant’. Yet they rule Jeremy Corbyn as sexist and misogynistic for calling them stupid people?
I’d say Mr Corbyn has a point.
— Rachael Swindon (@Rachael_Swindon) December 21, 2018
In fact there is a very strong difference between the Tories and the Labour Party with regard to prejudice on religious grounds.
Consider the case of Chris Williamson, who was reviled by politicians and political commentators from all sides after he tweeted support for a known anti-Semite.
Mr Williamson was not aware of jazz musician Gilad Atzmon’s anti-Semitic views; he had been told that Islington Council had banned him from performing in a gig, due to “pro-Palestinian views”.
Having discovered his mistake, Mr Williamson tweeted:
APOLOGY
Earlier today I tweeted a petition about an Islington Council ban against the Blockheads performing with their chosen line up. The council has blocked jazz musician Gilad Atzmon from playing with the group.— Chris Williamson (@DerbyChrisW) December 21, 2018
As soon as I was informed, I deleted the tweet.
I've always condemned all forms of racism, including antisemitism, and strongly disassociate myself from Atzmon's antisemitic views.
I therefore apologise for tweeting this petition and any distress or offence it may have caused.— Chris Williamson (@DerbyChrisW) December 21, 2018
You see, when Labour politicians found to have supported unacceptable views, they apologise. Tories who promote such views are told they are “respectful” and “tolerant”.
That is why the Conservative Party is institutionally racist.
Visit our JustGiving page to help Vox Political’s Mike Sivier fight anti-Semitism libels in court
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Here are four ways to be sure you’re among the first to know what’s going on.
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (in the left margin). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
The Livingstone Presumption is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
A bunch of racial bigots find a fellow racial bigot “not guilty”. I would “respectfully” say to Johnson, “You look like a sack of s**t.”
I wrote a letter to the “I” paper – “Apparently it is acceptable for a former Tory minister to insult a section of the population in the press (Boris Johnson’s insulting comments in the Telegraph about women wearing burkas), but not for a Labour politician to mutter in exasperation something under his breath which was never intended for publication. In a similar vein, I recall seeing on TV images of the prime minister sneering in the most objectionable way at the leader of the opposition, in the early days of his leadership, which also seems to have been accepted without comment. The main difference between the two is that Mr. Corbyn has electoral legitimacy, Mrs. May does not.”
Needless to say, it was not printed.
Regards; all the best for 2019!
Paul Grayshan
Common sense prevails, you con have freedom of speech and to say that people look like what they look like, it’s a shame that some Muslims are sexist and the men demand women wear these things, most women who wear them actually hate the things. Those who scream racist are divisive bigots who generally speaking look down on those of different ethnic origins skin colour and even religions ffs, how any of those make you a different race is beyond me, I thought there was only the human race.
I wonder how many Muslim women will read this as “mansplaining”.