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Boris Johnson's brother has been left squirming after a BBC Question Time audience blasted the Foreign Secretary's 'racism'.
Jo Johnson - who is also a Tory minister - faced the verbal attack from an attendee of the flagship debate show in Liverpool.
"Boris Johnson the current Foreign Secretary has actually been racist on record many times," the man declared.
"Genuinely. It’s terrible," he added - claiming Mr Johnson's comments were glossed over by the media.
Jo Johnson shut his eyes patiently as he declared: "Not a racist bone in his body."
But he was then immediately rounded on by one of his fellow panellists, Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland.
(Image: BBC)
(Image: BBC)
Mr Freedland pointed out that Boris previously called people in Africa "piccaninnies with watermelon smiles."
And he's right. Boris wrote in 2002: “What a relief it must be for Blair to get out of England.
"It is said that the Queen has come to love the Commonwealth, partly because it supplies her with regular cheering crowds of flag-waving piccaninnies”.
Boris Johnson was also awarded £1,000 for writing a poem that joked about Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the President of Turkey, having sex with a goat.
And he prompted uproar by suggesting Barack Obama removed a bust of Churchill from the Oval Office as a "a symbol of the part-Kenyan President's ancestral dislike of the British Empire".
BBC BBC Question Time returned to Liverpool after a hiatus
The flagship BBC show returned to Liver after a hiatus over Easter and the question initially asked was “do we need to do more to tackle anti-Semitism?” Conservative Minister for Orpington and brother of Boris Johnson, Jo Johnson, attacked Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn over his response to the recent anti-Semitism row within his Party, saying it showed “lack of leadership”. However, just as Question Time Presenter David Dimbleby was about to move onto another question, an audience member heckled: “Boris Johnson ,the current Foreign Secretary, has actually been racist on record many times.” Mr Dimbleby quickly issued a mike to the outspoken Scouser, where he added: "Genuinely. It’s terrible.”
Mr Johnson quickly interjected to say his brother did not have a “racist bone in his body”. But Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland reminded the Conservative minister the Foreign Secretary had called people in Africa "piccaninnies with watermelon smiles”. He was referring to a Daily Telegraph article in 2002 in which Boris Johnson mocked Tony Blair. The Foreign Secretary wrote: “What a relief it must be for Blair to get out of England.
BBC BBC Question Time: The Guardian columnist backed up the audience member
"It is said that the Queen has come to love the Commonwealth, partly because it supplies her with regular cheering crowds of flag-waving piccaninnies.” But another BBC Question Time audience panelist, Kate Andrews from the Institute of Economic Affairs, said the Labour Party had not done enough to stamp out anti-Semitism. She said: “Yes anti-Semitism can be found across society, but the Labour leadership has done nothing to address the very serious problem within its own Party. “Under no circumstances should it be acceptable on the highest level of politics.”
BBC BBC Question Time: Kate Andrews said it was 'unacceptable' for the Labour Party
QUESTION TIME returns tonight - with a fresh panel ready to debate the biggest issues of the week.
Here's who is on the show tonight and what time you can catch it - with the deteriorating situation in Syria likely to feature prominently.
Mentorn David Dimbleby is the regular host of Question Time
Who's on Question Time tonight, what time is it on and where is it broadcasting from?
Tonight, Question Time will be broadcast from Liverpool.
It will start at 10.45pm on BBC One and can also be listened to on BBC Radio 5 Live.
As always, the discussion will be chaired by David Dimbleby.
Representing the Government this week is Conservative MP for Orpington Jo Johnson, the younger brother of Foreign Secretary Boris.
Also on the panel are Labour MP Barry Gardiner, investment fund manager and writer Nicola Horlick, Guardian columnist Jonathan Freedland and Kate Andrews from the Institute of Economic Affairs.
Who is Question Time host David Dimbleby?
Question Time is helmed by veteran broadcaster David Dimbleby, 79, and has been since 1994.
He joined the BBC as a news reporter in Bristol during the 60s and has appeared on news programmes since 1962.
David hosted the coverage of last year's General Election, despite having announced that the 2015 national vote would be his last.
PA:Press Association Veteran David Dimbleby has appeared on news programmes since 1962
Can I be in the Question Time audience?
Question Time is filmed in front of a live studio audience, but the audience isn’t just there to watch, applause, heckle and listen – they are put to work to come up with questions for the panel.
Those who wish to apply to be part of the audience can do so via the Join the Question Time audience web page run by the BBC.
Hopefuls will be required to fill out a questionnaire to be considered as an audience member and will be contacted on the Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday before the programme airs.
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How long has Question Time been running?
Question Time has been airing on the BBC since the end of the 1970s – with the first episode broadcast on 29 September 1979.
The series was first presented by the late political broadcaster and commentator Sir Robin Day between 1979 and 1989, Peter Sisson between 1989 and 1993, and has been hosted by David Dimbleby since 1994.
The show has spawned a number of related shows including Any Questions?, The Big Questions, and Question Time Extra.
