Boris Johnson has been ordered to apologise after comparing women wearing burqas and niqabs to bank robbers.
The UK former foreign secretary wrote an article for The Telegraph, in which he argued against following Denmark's lead and banning the burka.
However he said women wearing the covering were choosing "to go around looking like letter boxes" and said he would "feel entitled" to ask them to remove it if one came to his constituency office.
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"If a female student turned up at school or at a university lecture looking like a bank robber, then ditto," he wrote.
"In Britain today there is only a tiny, tiny minority of women who wear these odd bits of headgear.
"One day, I am sure, they will go."
The article sparked a backlash from Muslim groups, opposition MPs and the leaders of his own party.
Conservative Party chairman Brandon Lewis condemned the remarks and said he'd asked for an apology.
Prime Minister PM Theresa May agreed the remarks "clearly caused offence" and backed calls for Mr Johnson to apologise.
"Some of the terms Boris used describing people's appearance obviously have offended," Ms May said.
"So I agree with Brandon Lewis.
"What's important is do we believe people should have the right to practise their religion and, in the case of women and the burka and niqab, to choose how they dress."
However it appears Mr Johnson is refusing to back down. The BBC reported a source close to Mr Johnson as saying he "won't be apologising".
"We must not fall into the trap of shutting down the debate on difficult issues," the source added.
"We have to call it out. If we fail to speak up for liberal values then we are simply yielding ground to reactionaries and extremists."
Newshub.
