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Boris Johnson’s inflammatory comparison of Muslim women wearing burkas to “letter boxes” and “bank robbers” represents a strain of opinion in the Tory party dating back well over half a century.

Despite Theresa May’s protestations that she takes a tough personal line on racism, she has failed to take action and couldn’t even bring herself to say the word “Islamophobia” in response to the former Foreign Secretary’s obviously Islamophobic newspaper column.

Johnson’s remarks, and support from acolytes such as Andrew Bridgen, Nadine Dorries and Ben Bradley, prove that intolerant opinion has a strong hold to this day in the Tory party.

Both Jeremy Corbyn and I have made clear that racism and anti-semitism have no place in the Labour Party .

Labour will resolve any outstanding issues within our party and get out there to assist the Jewish community in fighting anti-semitism and racism.

However, Boris Johnson’s remarks show how endemic intolerance is within the Tory party.

(Image: REUTERS)

It’s a strand of Tory opinion that in 1990 saw former party chairman Norman Tebbit, one of Thatcher’s closest Cabinet allies in the 1980s, invent the divisive so-called “cricket test.”

He suggested UK citizens with roots in the Caribbean or Asia were somehow being disloyal to Britain by cheering on the West Indies, Pakistan or India in test match cricket clashes with England.

“A large proportion of Britain’s Asian population fail to pass the cricket test. Which side do they cheer for? It’s an interesting test. Are you still harking back to where you came from or where you are?” asked Tebbit – then still a Tory MP and later to be handed a seat in the House of Lords by John Major’s government.

Tebbit’s remarks probably sit in the same league as those from Johnson in terms of the offence caused, revealing a perception some may have of what many in the Tory party really think about ethnic minorities, but rarely say in public.

There are much more extreme examples of Tory racism rows. Probably the most notorious was the 1968 anti-immigration “Rivers of Blood” speech by former Tory minister Enoch Powell.

He talked about how in “20 years’ time the black man will have the whip hand over the white man”, and prophesied “the River Tiber foaming with much blood” – using language that is about as inflammatory as it’s possible to get.

In another notorious case, Peter Griffiths won Smethwick in the West Midlands for the Tories at the 1964 general election, with a campaign that included literature containing the sickening slogan, “If you want a n***** for a neighbour, vote Labour”. Griffiths was a Tory MP as recently as 1997.

It’s also worth highlighting Johnson’s own track record, referring a decade ago to black people as “piccaninnies” and talking of “watermelon smiles”.

Boris Johnson burqa investigation explained What did he say? Boris Johnson wrote a column against a public burqa ban, but added the Islamic veil was "oppressive" and "absolutely ridiculous that people should choose to go around looking like letter boxes". He also compared wearers to "bank robbers". What is he accused of? Tory chiefs are probing if the MP broke the Conservative Party code of conduct, which says office-holders must not "use their position to bully, abuse, victimise, harass or unlawfully discriminate”. How will the probe work? It's currently at Stage 1, where an 'investigating officer' obtains written statements from both sides and can dismiss the complaint if it's "trivial". Stage 2 involves convening a panel. Stage 3 means presenting findings to the Tory chairman, leader or board for action. Who will lead the panel? Usually a QC or judge plus one rep of the voluntary party; one rep for backbench Tory MPs and one 'independent' member. Can Boris be expelled? Technically yes but politically unlikely. If he's found to have broken the code, the Tory board will have to decide action the punishes him but does not enrage grassroots members. How long will it take? Tory sources refuse to say. Read a full guide here.

Regardless of any attempt by the Tory leadership to dampen down the party’s latest race row, Labour will lead the resistance against all intolerance – whether it comes from former Foreign Secretary and London Mayor Johnson, far right activist Tommy Robinson, or the far right thugs who recently attacked the Socialist bookshop, Bookmarks.

Last week, in the wake of those onslaughts, I called for a revival of the spirit of an Anti-Nazi League cultural and political campaign to resist all forms of racism and fascism.

As deputy leader of the Greater London Council in the early 1980s, I was part of an authority that pioneered a firm anti-racist, equal opportunities policy programme in the face of intolerance from Thatcher’s government.

Labour stands ready once again to take up the fight against attempts to stir up racial division – in whatever guise that appears.