Katy Balls Katy Balls

Boris Johnson to face Tory probe over burka comments

It’s day four of the Boris and the burka row over the former foreign secretary’s decision to compare women wearing full face veils to a ‘letterboxes’ in a Telegraph column. And it doesn’t look as though things will die down any time soon.

The Conservatives are planning to launch a party probe into Johnson over his comments. Spearheaded by party chairman Brandon Lewis, complaints against the Tory MP will be referred to an internal disciplinary panel. A Conservative Party spokesman said: ‘The code of conduct process is strictly confidential’.

To say this will go down badly with Johnson’s supporters is an understatement. Given that the whole point of Johnson’s article was a liberal one in line with government policy – i.e. why there shouldn’t be a burka ban – there is a feeling the response has been blown out of proportion.

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