Boris Johnson has rejected calls to apologise for his comments about Muslim women wearing burkas as Theresa May said they had "offended people".

The former Foreign Secretary accused his critics of mounting "ridiculous" attacks and attempting to "shut down" legitimate debate.

However the Prime Minister said in Scotland that politicians have to be "very careful" about the language they use as she called on him to apologise.

It comes after Mr Johnson said in an article for The Telegraph that women who wear face veils look like "bank robbers" and "letter boxes", leading to accusations that he was fuelling Islamaphobia.

He argued that while Muslim women should be free to wear niqabs and burkas if they choose to do so, the practice is "oppressive" and has no "scriptural authority" in the Koran.