Steerpike Steerpike

Listen: Boris Johnson gets into a spot of bother on the campaign trail

Oh dear. After batting off accusations that he has been put into hiding for the course of the general election campaign, Boris Johnson today resurfaced on the campaign trail in Bristol. Visiting a Sikh temple in St George’s, Boris spoke positively about the opportunities that would come with Brexit —  including ending tariffs on whisky between the UK and India.

However, a female worshipper took exception to the Foreign Secretary’s words as she took him to task for daring to ‘talk about alcohol’ in a Sikh temple. In response, Johnson apologised profusely.

In fairness to Johnson, while Akal Takht Sandesh (a religious code of conduct) states that Sikhs ‘must not take hemp, opium, liquor, tobacco, in short any intoxicant’, many Sikhs living in the UK do drink alcohol.

Steerpike
Written by
Steerpike

Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike

Topics in this article

Comments

Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.

Already a subscriber? Log in