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Courtesy of the Sunday Times.
Boris Johnson is at the centre of a new row over racism after an investigation into online abuse revealed his official Facebook page hosts hundreds of Islamophobic messages. Under entries that publicise Johnson’s articles and speeches, the MP’s followers left comments including calls to ban Islam and deport Muslims, as well as vile attacks on the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan. Among the remarks on the former foreign secretary’s official Facebook page are calls for “no Muslims in government, police or army”.
One post reads: “That’s crazy to trust them. They are just waiting for the Jihad signal to turn on us. Another tells the Conservative MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip: “Come on Boris, you had the bottle to start getting rid of these bloody muslims, just like Enoch [Powell] wanted to rid us of all yer bloody c**ns!” The comments were uncovered as part of a Sunday Times investigation into online abuse. In addition to Johnson’s official Facebook page, it found thousands of offensive comments on 10 Facebook groups run by supporters of Johnson and fellow Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg, whose members include Tory councillors, officials and agents.
Ruth Davidson, the Tory leader in Scotland, led criticism of his remarks, and others warned that “dog-whistle” politics would encourage attacks on Muslims. L ast night, a senior minister said Johnson’s remarks on the burqa had given others the green light to express Islamophobic views. “It’s always the risk when you start to mock Islam.” The party’s inquiry, which could end this week, triggered fury from Johnson’s supporters. Last week, Rees-Mogg denounced it as a “show trial” and suggested its aim was to stop Johnson becoming the next Conservative leader. The exposure of the posts comes as a Tory minister, Nusrat Ghani, reveals today that she was stalked for two years by a man who targeted her because she was a female Muslim MP.
In April, the Sunday Times revealed a host of anti-semitic posts on closed sites supporting Jeremy Corbyn, whose members included 12 senior staff working for the Labour leadership. Last night the Muslim Council of Britain called for a “full and transparent” investigation into Islamophobia in the Conservative Party and for the police to investigate the comments. “Boris’s remarks have clearly inflamed tensions,” said spokesman Miqdaad Versi, adding that they “shone light on a simmering underbelly of ugly Islamophobia within the Conservative party”.
While Facebook is responsible for removing offensive posts, the administrators of groups are able to report or delete comments, but Johnson and his team appear not to have done so. Facebook says it does not permit hate speech, defining it as direct attacks on people based on race, ethnicity, religious affiliation or other protected characteristics. The Sunday Times investigation found that Johnson’s burqa comments were quickly embraced by an online audience of Conservative Facebook groups. Together they have more than 20,000 members. Although comments on sites such as Johnson’s personal page are open to all Facebook users, some, including the “Boris Johnson: Support Group” and “Moggmania”, are restricted.
