Is Boris Johnson physically incapable of apologising for his Islamophobic comments?

Boris Johnson is no longer just the politician renowned for making gaffes and offensive remarks disguised as poor humour; he is Boris Johnson, prime minister. As such, he has a responsibility to bring communities together, not divide them, as well as taking responsibility and apologising sincerely for past misdemeanours.

I was previously a cabinet member during the administration of the former disgraced mayor of Tower Hamlets and bore verbal attacks and false allegations with dignity, but I took responsibility and rose up amidst criticism, learning from the experience and moving forward positively.

On the other hand, Johnson has never apologised for likening burqa-wearing women to “letterboxes”, and “bank robbers” in his August 2018 column in The Telegraph.

In the past, Johnson has also insulted the French by calling them “turds” over Brexit, described Commonwealth citizens as “picaninnies” with “watermelon smiles”, compared the EU to Hitler, joked about dead bodies in Libya, championed cheap alcohol during a Sikh temple speech, called gay men “tank-topped bumboys”, compared gay marriage to “bestiality” and wrote a poem about the Turkish president having sex with a goat, to name a few of his insensitive remarks.

This week, in the Commons, Sikh Labour MP Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, was applauded after demanding that Johnson apologise for his “letterbox” and “bank robber” comments. Johnson attempted to redeem himself by claiming that his article was a “strong liberal defence of everybody’s right to wear whatever they want in this country”. He also claimed to be proud to have Muslim ancestors and that he was also related to Sikhs, in addition to mentioning his diverse cabinet.

However, Jo Swinson, Liberal Democrat leader, called his comments “appalling” stating that an apology was required rather than justification.

Unfortunately, Johnson’s decision to target one specific religion in our multicultural society served only to perpetuate stereotypes associated with Islam and created further division and suspicion. Anti-racism charity Tell Mama found there had been a 375 per cent week-on-week increase in Islamophobic incidents since the prime minister’s comments just over a year ago.

He should not be focusing on any religion at all.

While the government’s focus is on the Leave-Remain-Leave-Remain deal-or-no-deal issue, the country is becoming further divided; therefore, any aim to create a more liberal society is failing miserably. Being a liberal society includes embracing a multi-ethnic society and enabling people of different religions to celebrate their own cultures as long as they do not harm anyone, or promote hatred.

The best leaders are not afraid to admit their weaknesses, learn from them, accept failure and apologise for their mistakes. They seek to understand everyone’s perspective on an issue so that they can offer solutions that benefit everyone. They should be inspiring and influencing people in a positive manner, rather than focusing on maintaining a position of power and undermining others.

Johnson should heed the words of Benjamin Franklin, who said, “Never ruin an apology with an excuse”.

Is it so difficult to say “sorry”, Boris Johnson?

Rabina Khan is a Liberal Democrat councillor for Shadwell in Tower Hamlets