Priti Patel denies Boris Johnson is a racist after rapper Dave criticises Prime Minister
2 min read
Priti Patel has been forced to deny that Boris Johnson is a racist after he was criticised by the rapper Dave.
The star - who won album of the year at the Brit Awards on Tuesday night - hit out at the Prime Minister during a live rendition of hit track 'Performing Black'.
He said: "It is racist, whether or not it feels racist, the truth is our Prime Minister’s a real racist / They say – ‘you should be grateful, we’re the least racist’ / I say the least racist is still racist."
Mr Johnson has been criticised for comments he made in newspaper columns before he entered Downing Street.
In one, he talked of African people having "watermelon smiles", while in another he compared Muslim women wearing the burqa to bank robbers and post boxes.
Asked about Dave's comments on Sky News, Home Secretary Ms Patel said: "That's utter nonsense, it really is. I don't know what those comments are based on ... He is not a racist at all. I just think those comments are highly inappropriate."
But Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott said: "I thought it was extraordinary how that resonated with so many people online and on social media. And coming days after the Government was embarrassed by recruiting a policy adviser who thought that black people were less intelligent than white people, I think the Government has to be really careful how it's perceived by black and minority ethnic people."
She added: "I think that the Prime Minister needs to be much more careful about how he is seen by black and minority ethnic voters. It's partly his record, the kind of things that he wrote in the past, but also the kind of things he's going forward to do.
"Being Prime Minister is about leadership and he needs to offer leadership on issues of social cohesion."
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