In his Sunday article for The Telegraph newspaper, Johnson said that face veils were oppressive and ridiculous, comparing women wearing them to "bank robbers" and "letterboxes."
Johnson's remarks prompted criticism from UK officials, including Conservative Party Chairman Brandon Lewis, who urged Johnson to apologize, and Prime Minister Theresa May, who said that the words used by Johnson were offensive. Johnson refused to apologize for his remarks.
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The Tories have recently faced multiple accusations of Islamophobia. In June, Baroness Warsi, the former co-chair of the party, former minister of state for faith and communities, and the first female Muslim to sit in the UK cabinet, said that anti-Islam views were widespread within the party's ranks while the Tory leadership ignored the issue.