A BRADFORD MP has hit out at the former foreign secretary after he said that Muslim women wearing burkas look like "letter boxes".

Boris Johnson has come under fire from Naz Shah MP, for Bradford West, for the comments, which also refered to Muslim women wearing burkas as "bank robbers".

He said he opposed a ban on the face-covering veils, but described them as "absolutely ridiculous" and compared their wearers to rebellious teenagers.

His comments, in response to Denmark's introduction of a ban on burkas in public places, sparked an angry response from Muslim organisations and other MPs, who accused him of stoking Islamophobia for political gain.

Ms Shah, shadow minister for women and equalities, has written to International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt and Tory party chairman Brandon Lewis over Mr Johnson's comments.

She said: "I've written to @PennyMordaunt and @BrandonLewis to ask what action will be taken against Boris Johnson for his ugly and naked Islamophobia.

"When Muslim women are being attacked in the street, his comments are dangerous and cannot be laughed off."

Asked if Mr Johnson's column amounted to Islamophobia, Fiyaz Mughal, founder of Tell Mama UK, which campaigns against anti-Muslim violence, told Radio 4's Today programme: "Clearly it does, these are the kind of comments we have seen that have been made by extremist far-right groups and people who have been maliciously attacking Muslims, so clearly it does fit that bracket."

Mr Mughal criticised the "sheer flippancy in which it was made".

Describing the Government's response, he added: "It's not acceptable, the fact of the matter is the relationship with Muslim communities is extremely poor with this Government and at a time when many members of the Muslim community are feeling targeted and are being targeted, the fact is the community wants reassurance centrally from 10 Downing Street.

"That reassurance should be coming quickly and effectively. It's now 24 hours have gone by, the message that members of the Muslim community get is that their concerns are not taken into account."

He went on: "It's not good enough, we have multiple incidences at a local level, we know that, but the fact is now you have central characters in the Conservative Party making such comments shows actually this is not just a localised issue."