Boris Johnson has dismissed as “ridiculous” the furore over his comments that the Libyan city of Sirte could become the next Dubai if they “clear the dead bodies away”.
A number of Conservative backbenchers criticised the Foreign Secretary’s comments, but he rejected their concerns saying this is what happens when people “are determined to distort what you say”.
According to a Sky News report First Secretary of State Damian Green notes that Mr Johnson needed to “be careful” with his use of language.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd admitted Mr Johnson “is a distraction sometimes from the real stuff we’re trying to do”.
“It is very serious what’s been going on in Libya and the Foreign Secretary has clarified what he meant and I hope we can move on from that for now, until his next comment ” she said.
Former Conservative chairman Sir Eric Pickles insisted the Foreign Secretary was still an “asset” to the party but warned “he’s going to have to be a little bit more careful in terms of what he says”.
Sir Eric also said he “kind of” understands Mr Johnson’s subsequent explanation for his comments after being initially “shocked” by the remarks, but added: “I’m not here to defend him.”
Mr Johnson, who visited Libya in August, hailed it as an “incredible country” at a Conservative conference fringe event on Tuesday night.
He described the war-torn North African nation’s “bone-white sand”, “beautiful seas”, “brilliant young people” and “real potential” as he remembered his recent trip.
Having earlier used the event to speak of Britain’s future trading potential after Brexit, Mr Johnson added: “There’s a group of UK business people… wonderful guys who want to invest in Sirte on the coast.
“They have a brilliant vision to turn Sirte… into the next Dubai.
“The only thing they’ve got to do is clear the dead bodies away and then they’ll be there.”
Mr Johnson’s risky joke was met by a smattering of laughter from the audience, before the event’s chair asked for the next question.
But some of his colleagues were not impressed, with South Cambridgeshire MP Heidi Allen tweeting that the comments were “100% unacceptable from anyone, let alone foreign sec”.
She added: “Boris must be sacked for this. He does not represent my party.”
Fellow MP Anna Soubry tweeted that Mr Johnson “is embarrassing and PM should sack him”.
Sarah Wollaston, Totnes MP, tweeted: “Demeaning jokes about real people murdered in Libya would be crass even from a stand up; appalled to hear this from our Foreign Secretary”.
But Mr Johnson hit back, tweeting: “Shame people with no knowledge or understanding of Libya want to play politics with the appallingly dangerous reality in Sirte.
“The reality there is that the clearing of corpses of Daesh fighters has been made much more difficult by IEDs and booby traps.
“That’s why Britain is playing a key role in reconstruction and why I have visited Libya twice this year in support.”
Libya’s civil war, which has raged since the fall of dictator Muammar Gaddafi, has left thousands of people dead and seen the rise of extremist groups in the country.
Sirte, on Libya’s Mediterranean coast, was recaptured from Islamic State militants last year.
Last Saturday, a video emerged which showed Mr Johnson reciting a colonial poem during a public event in Myanmar before being stopped by an ambassador.
Kindly follow us on twitter:@AfricanVoice2
