Shocking statements from the new British foreign minister

Former London Mayor Boris Johnson, who was recently appointed British Foreign Secretary, has repeatedly made shocking statements about politicians and people of other countries.

New British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. Photo: AFP.

Recent,New British Prime Minister Theresa May unexpectedly appointedConservative MP Boris Johnsonsit in the foreign minister's chairto steer the ship of EnglandafterBrexitAs the leader of the Brexit movement and now in charge of British foreign policy, Mr Johnson is a controversial figure, having beenmouthinsulting politicians and people of many countries, according to the magazineTime.

Disrespecting the Congolese people

In an article published in the Daily Telegraph commenting on former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2002, Johnson sparked outrage by calling Congolese people "piccaninnies", a derogatory and racist term used to refer to children of African descent.

"Without a doubt, the AK-47s would fall silent, the machetes would stop hacking people away, and the tribal warriors would grin like watermelons as they watched the white leader step down," he wrote.

Angering the people of Papua New Guinea

In 2006, Johnson was forced to apologize to the entire island nation of Papua New Guinea for offending them in an article mocking the leadership crisis of the British opposition Labour Party due to power struggles.

"In 10 years in the Conservative Party, we had known all too well about cannibalistic orgies and chieftaincy killings of the Papua New Guinea type. So it was a pleasant surprise to see this madness gripping the Labour Party," Johnson wrote.

Jean L. Kekedo, Papua New Guinea's high commissioner for foreign affairs in Britain, expressed anger at Mr Johnson's insults.

"I am shocked and appalled by such comments from someone so highly placed and seemingly well educated," said Ms Kekedo.

Insulting Hillary Clinton

In a 2007 article, Johnson insulted Hillary Clinton, who was then running for the Democratic presidential nomination.

“She had dyed blond hair, pouty lips, and a steely blue gaze, like a grim nurse in a mental hospital,” he wrote.

Mocking Donald Trump

Johnson's rhetoric has crossed the line for the Conservative Party, observers say. In an interview late last year, Johnson said the only reason he didn't visit parts of New York was because of "a very real danger of meeting Donald Trump."

His actions are believed to be in response to billionaire Trump saying that parts of London are so radicalised that police fear they will lose their lives working there.

The New York tycoon's uninformed comments about London were "utter nonsense," Johnson said.

Criticize Putin, criticize Obama

In another article published in December 2015, Johnson compared Russian President Vladimir Putin to an ugly-faced house elf from Harry Potter.

In an article published in the Sun newspaper in April, Johnson implied that US President Barack Obama's decision to remove a bust of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill from the Oval Office of the White House was "an act that shows Obama's ancestral roots in Kenya, which hated the British Empire, an institution that Churchill fiercely defended."

His argument was criticised as racist. Even Conservative MP Nicholas Winston Soames, grandson of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill, condemned Johnson's article, calling it "a terrible article", completely wrong and incomprehensible.

Attack on Turkish President

In May, Mr Johnson won first prize in a poetry competition organised by the Spectator weekly newspaper, criticising Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his crackdown on free speech.

In the five-line satirical poem, he called a goat President Erdogan's "lover."

According to VNE