An investigation into online abuse has revealed that Boris Johnsons Facebook page is host to hundreds of Islamophobic messages.
The Sunday Times said it has uncovered calls to ban Islam, deport Muslims and vile attacks on London mayor Sadiq Khan on the MPs official page.
A source close to the former foreign secretary said he totally condemns the hateful views posted by a small minority of respondents.
Mr Johnson is currently facing an internal Conservative Party investigation for an article he wrote for The Daily Telegraph comparing women wearing burkas to letterboxes and bank robbers.
He has refused to bow to pressure and apologise, despite calls from MPs within his own party for him to do so, including Theresa May.
According to The Sunday Times, the posts on his Facebook page include calls for no Muslims in government, police or army.
Advertisement
Advertisement
One is said to read: Thats crazy to trust them. They are just waiting for the Jihad sign to turn on us. #islamophobicandproud.
A source close to Mr Johnson said: Mr Johnson totally condemns the hateful views posted by a small minority on these Facebook pages, brought to light by The Sunday Times.
However it is ridiculous to attack Mr Johnson for comments made by individuals on social media when even the official website and Facebook page of the Times and Sunday Times host racist and Islamophobic messages from page visitors.
Allies of the former foreign secretary indicated that, to date, his team had not censored comments on his Facebook page – including those attacking him – as he believed in free speech and that people should be able to contact their elected representatives easily.
They pointed out that Facebook was responsible for moderating Facebook pages, with a staff of 15,000 to investigate and remove offensive postings.
While Mr Johnson has yet to comment publicly on the furore over his Telegraph article, his supporters have made clear he did not accept his comments were Islamophobic and he would not be apologising.
Advertisement
Advertisement
[contf]
[contfnew]
METRO
[contfnewc]
[contfnewc]