Conservatives rule Boris Johnson comparing Muslim women in veils to letter boxes and bank robbers was 'respectful'

Former foreign secretary not in breach of Conservative Party code of conduct

Boris Johnson has been cleared of breaching the Conservative Party’s code of conduct by comparing veiled Muslim women to letter boxes and bank robbers.

An independent panel decided the former foreign secretary was “respectful and tolerant” and was entitled to use “satire” in his newspaper column in August.

The investigation was triggered following complaints that his remarks in The Daily Telegraph were Islamophobic and offensive.

Theresa May, Conservative Party chairman Brandon Lewis and Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson all called on Mr Johnson to apologise. Former attorney general Dominic Grieve even suggested he would leave the Tories if Mr Johnson was elected leader, claiming: “I don’t regard him as a fit and proper person to lead a political party.”

However Mr Johnson refused to back down despite calls from some Tories for the whip to be removed.

The independent panel, chaired by Naomi Ellenbogen QC, found his use of language in the column could be considered “provocative” but claimed it would be “unwise to censor excessively the language of party representatives or the use of satire to emphasise a viewpoint, particularly a viewpoint that is not subject to criticism”.

It said Tory party rules do not “override an individual’s right to freedom of expression”, according to a report in the Daily Telegraph.

In his column, Mr Johnson said he felt “fully entitled” to expect women to remove face coverings when talking to him at his MP’s surgery.

He said schools and universities should be able to take the same approach if a student “turns up ... looking like a bank robber”.

Mr Johnson argued the niqab was “oppressive” and it was “absolutely ridiculous that people should choose to go around looking like letter boxes”.

At the height of the row he won support from Blackadder star Rowan Atkinson, who said the former cabinet minister had made a “pretty good” joke and insisted it was pointless to apologise for joking about religion as it always causes offence.

In a letter to The Times, the Mr Bean actor wrote: “You should really only apologise for a bad joke. On that basis, no apology is required.”

Additional reporting by Press Association