Boris Johnson at it again – Lybia will be new Dubai after “Clearing up dead bodies”

 

Boris Johnson inability to control his tongue has continue to embarrass the Prime minister and the Tory’s party.

He has been dropping bomb after bomb of improper speeches and alterations and the question now remain HOW LONG WILL THIS CONTINUE TO GO ON BEFORE SOMETHING IS DONE ABOUT IT?

THERE has been calls from EU quarters and Tory MPs for him to be sacked for his provocative comments.

Sarah Wollaston, Anna Soubry and Heidi Allen have all called for the Foreign Secretary to be sacked for saying development in Libya was being held up by people not “clearing up the dead bodies”

The Foreign Secretary made the comments at a fringe event following his conference speech EPA
More Tory MPs have joined calls for Boris Johnson to consider his position in the wake of his controversial comments about the need to “clear up the bodies”

Johnson was recorded telling delegates at an event that British businesses wanted to invest in Libya.

 

“They have got brilliant vision to turn Sirte, with the help of the municipality of Sirte, into the next Dubai. The only thing they’ve got to do is clear the dead bodies,” he said.

Dr Wollaston said: “I think if you imagine a foreign secretary from abroad making similar comments following a national disaster in this country, you can see how that may be interpreted by us.”

Mr Johnson wrote a number of tweets in the wake of controversy following his comments. He said he had been highlighting the issue of the bodies of dead Daesh fighters being “booby-trapped” with explosives in the city, and said it was “a shame people with no knowledge or understanding of Libya want to play politics with the appallingly dangerous reality in Sirte.” (Clever PR statement)

JOHNSON SAYS LIBYAN CITY HAS BRIGHT FUTURE ‘ONCE THEY CLEAR BODIES’“ He should unequivocally apologise and not try to justify those kind of remarks and the way it was said. He should consider his position.”

Dr Wollaston added: “This is a meeting that he would have known was being filmed. He needs to be much more sensitive of how he comes across.

Oliver Miles, a former UK ambassador to Libya and deputy chair of the Libyan British Business Council, told the Middle East Eye that Johnson’s remarks were another example of his “inability to keep his mouth shut”.

 

Miles said: “We have already seen reaction in Libya suggesting that these dead bodies are people who had fought Islamic State and they deserve to be honoured. And it’s exaggerated to say there are lots and lots of companies ready to pour in to Libya. It was silly thing to say. Loose lips in diplomacy don’t pay. We are some way from major UK firms investing in Libya.”

On his last visit to Libya, in August, Johnson announced that the Foreign Office was providing £3m to help the Libyan government clear more than 5,000 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) left by Islamic State, particularly from Sirte.

 

Johnson has visited Libya twice and last month held a conference on the country’s political future, attended by the US secretary of state, Rex Tillerson.

The Libyan government has been struggling for months to clear IEDs left by Isis during the near year-long siege of Sirte by Libyan government forces. The city was seized by Islamic State in March 2015 and recaptured in the second half of 2016 with the help of US airstrikes and forces loyal to the UN-backed government based in Tripoli.

First Secretary of State and de facto Deputy Prime Minister appeared on various television and radio shows in advance of Theresa May’s conference speech earlier in the month.

But the interviews were dominated by talk of the Foreign Secretary’s remarks. Mr Green would not comment on whether Mr Johnson should be sacked, telling the Today Programme: “We must all be careful with our use of language.”

He said the foreign secretary, who recently visited Libya, was “an expert” on the country.

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“It is an extremely terrible situation there,” he added.

“But we all need to learn the lesson of being sensitive at all times.”

Conservative backbencher Heidi Allen was among others calling for the Foreign Secretary to be sacked, saying Mr Johnson “does not represent my party.”

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