Boris Johnson’s sister Rachel explains she ‘has a problem’ with burka because woman in a family can be ‘completely covered’ while the man wears ‘shorts and flip flops’

RACHEL Johnson has defended her call for a ban on the burka in Britain, explaining why she "has a problem" with the full veil in an interview with Good Morning Britain.

Boris' sister said that she did not believe there was a feminist argument for a woman to cover her face in the debate with panellist Sahar Al-Faifi.

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Debating with hosts Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid, she argued: "I do have a problem with the full face veil.

"I have a human reaction to seeing a family where the woman is completely covered in black cloth and the man is wearing shorts and flip flops."

Community advocate Sahar hit back, saying it was her choice to wear the niqab, and that no one had made her.

She said: "Men have different codes and women have different codes of following God. It's an act of worship."

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Rachel also made a thinly veiled dig at her brother in the debate over burkas.

The former Foreign Secretary claimed that burkas make women look like "bank robbers" or "letterboxes" in an inflammatory article in the Daily Telegraph.

While urging for the religious garment to be banned, Rachel Johnson acknowledged her fellow panellist Sahar Al-Faifi, who wears a niqab, "doesn't look remotely like a letterbox or bank robber".

And while Rachel clearly didn't agree with her brother's words, she refused to back down from calls for the burka to be banned.

But she added: "Sahar looks lovely, and I'm very pleased to have the opportunity to be sitting here with Sahar, who doesn't look remotely like a letterbox or bank robber, I'm happy to confirm."

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Sahar told of the abuse she had faced on the streets - with two separate occasions seeing strangers try to pull off her veil.

Sahar said: "Words like F-word bombers, terrorist, go back to your country it's very painful.

"I'm from Wales."

Sahar, who said neither her sister nor her mother wear a veil, said she had no problems taking her veil off if a security situation arose where she needed to be identified.

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Boris Johnson made headlines in August after saying it was "sensible" to be able to read each others facial expressions and humans "must be able to see each other's faces".

Boris later refused a direct order to apologise for his remarks issued by Tory party chairman Brandon Lewis on Twitter.

And PM Theresa May piled on the pressure by saying his comments “obviously have offended”.