Boris Johnson's inflammatory remarks about women who wear the burqahave sparked outrage and fierce debate on an issue that was already highly emotive. Since the European Union referendum, community relations between Muslims and non-Muslims have become increasingly fraught. There have been rises in race and hate crimes, many of which have been Islamophobic in nature – with the targets mainly being women of Asian ethnicity, assumed to be Muslim.
While some have tried to excuse Johnson's comments – he referred to burqa wearers as letterboxes or bank robbers – this is not the first time he has made statements with overtly racist terminology. Some commentators have argued the former foreign secretary's words are an attempt to remain at the forefront of politics, amid the possibility of a Conservative party leadership contest.
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