Excerpt:
Boris Johnson’s support among grassroots Conservatives, already resurgent in the wake of his resignation over Brexit, appears to have been bolstered further by his claim that Muslim women in burqas resemble letterboxes and bank robbers.
Tory activists have claimed that party members admire the former foreign secretary’s “straight talking” on the controversial issue and suggested his words implied he had listened to some of their concerns about community integration.
Councillor Delyth Miles, a former constituency chair in Essex, said: “This calling for an apology is an overreaction and unnecessary. I don’t think his article was that offensive and am sure it will appeal to many hundreds of thousands of people, not just Conservative voters and supporters but people across the country.”