Former British FM Johnson urged to pay back his Kabul trip costs

Activists and politicians have called on former British foreign minister Boris Johnson to pay back to the public the costs of a trip he made to Afghanistan in June amid a public row over the construction of a third runway at the Heathrow International Airport.

The British foreign ministry on Thursday responded to media calls for clarification on Johnson’s trip to Afghanistan on June 25, the day of the controversial Heathrow Airport vote, saying the trip cost UK taxpayers nearly 20,000 pounds ($25,500).

At the time, Johnson was widely criticized for missing the crucial Heathrow vote, having once promised to lie down in front of the bulldozers to prevent a third runway being built at the airport, close to his Uxbridge constituency in west London.

He was accused of taking the last-minute trip to Afghanistan to avoid having to abandon his position or resign his cabinet post to vote against the government.

Johnson reportedly spent just nine hours of this costly trip in Kabul.

The Foreign Office, in response to a freedom of information request from Scottish website The Ferret, revealed the cost of the trip.

However, the department refused to disclose the details of flight and security costs of Johnson himself, saying the information would be published in due course as part of transparency of data requirements.

That refusal suggested the cost of Johnson’s trip could be much higher than what has been speculated in the media.

Johnson has already ignited a furious row with a column he wrote early this month comparing Muslim women who wear burqas to “letterboxes” and “bank robbers”.

PressTV-Abuse of Muslim women spikes after Johnson comments

A British watchdog says Muslim women have been insulted following Johnson’s burqa comments.

He has refused to apologize for the comments which many say were part of his deliberate attempt to rally support from the British far-right.

Senior figures of the British Muslim community have condemned Johnson for spreading hate after reports suggested that several Muslim women had been attacked since the comments were published in The Daily Telegraph.

Labour Party Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said Johnson should consider using his earnings from the newspaper article to pay back the cost of the visit.

“Boris Johnson, who once said he would lie down in front of bulldozers to stop a third runway at Heathrow, scuttled out of the country at the taxpayer’s expense rather than honoring his promise to his constituents,” McDonnell said.

“Perhaps our former foreign secretary will consider using some of the money he earns insulting Muslim women with his lucrative £20,000-plus a month column to pay back the taxpayer,” he added.

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