John Humphrys makes AWKWARD burka gaffe - 'I think you’re unlikely to see it in your pub'
BBC Radio host John Humphrys made an embarrassing gaffe as he discussed Boris Johnson's comments on Muslim women wearing burkas with Tory Peer Eric Pickles.
BBC's John Humphrys blunder over Burka debate
Speaking on BBC Radio 4 Today Programme, Mr Pickles called on the former Foreign Secretary to apologise for his remarks on the religious garment in a recent article for the Daily Telegraph.
The Tory Peer urged Boris Johnson to apologise for comparing women wearing burkas to "letterboxes" and "bank robbers".
But BBC host John Humphrys put forward the argument claiming Britons had the right to feel "unease" in the presence of burka-wearing women.
As he advanced his argument, though, Mr Humphyrs made an embarrassing gaffe.
He said: “If he apologised, a lot of people might say what that means is that, although I personally – they might say – am opposed to the burka.
“I don’t like seeing the burka in the street, or in my pub, or in my shop or wherever it happens to be.”
To which Eric Pickles sighed: “I think you’re unlikely to see it in your pub, to be fair.”
Embarrassed, Humphrys hastily responded: “Unlikely to be seen in the pub, admittedly, I’ll accept that, but in my shop or wherever I happen to be, it makes me feel uneasy.
“Are they entitled to feel uneasy?”
I think you’re unlikely to see it in your pub, to be fair
Mr Johnson has been under pressure since writing a piece for the Daily Telegraph in which he suggested women who wear face veils look like “letterboxes” and “bank robbers”.
In the article, which was arguing against the UK following Denmark and introducing a ban on face coverings, Mr Johnson also described burkas as “oppressive and ridiculous”.
The language outraged some who accused the former Foreign Secretary of stirring up Islamophobia.
Mohammed Amin, chair of the Conservative Muslim Forum, described the comments as “very unfortunate” and claimed they could boost the far-right.
Farage: Boris MORE likely to become PM after Burka comments
The row followed the Prime Minister to Edinburgh, where she was discussing post-Brexit investments.
Asked if Mr Johnson should apologise, or if he should lose the party whip, Mrs May told reporters: "I am very clear, and the Government is very clear about our position on the burka, which is that women should be able to choose how to dress.
"It's up to women how they should dress. It's not up to other people to tell a woman how to dress.
"But obviously these issues are ones that are openly discussed and it's right that we have a discussion about issues like this."