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- Boris Johnson has announced that he will run to replace Theresa May as leader of the Conservative party.
- Johnson is the bookies’ favourite to take over from the PM.
- Business Insider has taken a look at the former foreign secretary’s long history of controversies and gaffes.
- Visit Business Insider’s home page for more stories.
LONDON — Boris Johnson revealed this week that he will run to replace Theresa May as leader of the Conservative party.
The former foreign secretary is the current bookies’ favourite to take over from the prime minister when she resigns, which is widely expected to take place this summer.
Business Insider has taken a look at Johnson’s long history of controversies and gaffes, which include calling gay men "tank-topped bumboys," reciting colonial poetry in Burma, and rugby-tackling a 10-year-old child.
August 2018: Muslim women in burkas ‘look like letter boxes’
Reuters
Johnson was accused of Islamophobia in 2018 after he wrote that Muslim women wearing burkas "look like letter boxes."
Writing in the Telegraph newspaper, he said: "If you tell me that the burka is oppressive, then I am with you.
"If you say that it is weird and bullying to expect women to cover their faces, then I totally agree – and I would add that I can find no scriptural authority for the practice in the Koran.
"I would go further and say that it is absolutely ridiculous that people should choose to go around looking like letter boxes."
The Muslim Council of Britain accused him of "pandering to the far right" and he was placed under investigation by the Conservative party, before later being cleared.
June 2018: ‘F*ck business’
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One of the low points in Johnson’s time as foreign secretary was when he refused to deny reports that he used a swear word to describe business leaders who were concerned about the impact of Brexit.
Asked about corporate concerns over Brexit at an event for EU diplomats, Johnson is said to have replied: "F*ck business."
October 2017: ‘Dead bodies’ in Libya
Reuters
Writing in 2017, Johnson said the Libyan city of Sirte — large parts of which were destroyed during a brutal civil war — could be the new Dubai, adding: "All they have to do is clear the dead bodies away."
He subsequently refused to apologise for the comments.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
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- Boris Johnson says he will run to replace Theresa May as prime minister
Source: Business Insider – tcolson@businessinsider.com (Thomas Colson)