THE SNP’S Ian Blackford infuriated Tories yesterday when he described Boris Johnson as a racist.
Speaking in the Commons during Prime Minister’s Questions, Blackford told Theresa May that the man most likely to replace her was not fit for the job.
“He has said that Scots should be banned from being prime minister and that £1 spent in Croydon was worth more than £1 spend in Strathclyde.
“This is a man who is not fit for office. It has been said, ‘The ultimate measure of a person is not where they stand in moments of comfort, but where they stand at times of challenge and controversy.’
“This is a time of challenge, so does the Prime Minister realise that not only is the member racist, but he is stoking division in communities and has a record of dishonesty?”
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The accusation left the Tory benches reeling, angrily shouting at the SNP man.
Speaker John Bercow was forced to intervene telling Blackford to be “extremely careful in the language he uses”.
He then told the SNP Westminster leader to “withdraw any allegation of racism against any particular Member. I do not think that this is the forum, and I do not think it is the right way to behave”.
But Blackford persisted: “He has called Muslim women ‘letter boxes’, described African people as having “watermelon smiles” and another disgusting slur that I would never dignify by repeating.
“If that is not racist, I do not know what is.”
Seemingly to Blackford’s surprise, Bercow did not respond.
The SNP leader then asked May if she genuinely believed Johnson would be “fit for the office of Prime Minister.”
“I believe that any future Conservative prime minister will be better for Scotland than the Scottish nationalist party,” May replied.
When asked about the comments, Jeremy Corbyn’s spokesman said the Labour leader agreed with the sentiment of Blackford’s question.
With it looking incredibly likely that Johnson will become the next Tory leader and the next prime minister, past comments are coming back to haunt him.
It’s not the first time Johnson has been branded racist.
Sheffield’s Lord Mayor Magid Magid called him “a posh-speaking, fancily dressed, racist mophead imbecile.”
The chair of the Conservative Muslim Forum even said he would quit the Tories if Johnson becomes the party’s next leader.
Mohammed Amin said the former foreign secretary was unfit to be prime minister.
He said that while Johnson was popular with MPs and Tory members, “popularity is not the test”, adding: “A lot of Germans thought that Hitler was the right man for them.”
He added: “I have been a Conservative party member for over 36 years, and we don’t expect our politicians, our prime minister, to be saints, but we do require a basic level of morality and integrity.”
His supporters, however, remain steadfast. Soon after the exchange in the Commons, Aberdeen South MP Ross Thomson tweeted: “.@BorisJohnson has MPs supporting him from every wing of the Conservative party – left, right, wet and dry. He has support from both those who voted leave and remain. He has support from across the whole country. Boris is the candidate to unite us.”
Blackford’s remark wasn’t even the only accusation of racism during Prime Minister’s Questions. Labour’s Virendra Sharma, MP for Ealing Southall, labelled May’s immigration policies “racist”.
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