Rowan Atkinson on Boris Johnson's burqa remark: 'Pointless apologising for jokes about religion'

Rowan Atkinson has defended the controversial comments made by Boris Johnson, British politician and current Member of Parliament (MP) for Uxbridge and South Ruislip. Boris Johnson came under fire for his remarks regarding burka wearing Muslim women. Johnson said that schools and universities should expect students to remove face coverings if they turn up ’looking like a bank robber’. He wrote: ‘If you tell me that the burka is oppressive, then I am with you. If you say that it is weird and bullying to expect women to cover their faces, then I totally agree – and I would add that I can find no scriptural authority for the practice in the Koran. I would go further and say that it is absolutely ridiculous that people should choose to go around looking like letter boxes.’ _Also read: Theresa May says Boris Johnson should apologise over burkha comments; former foreign minister brands critics 'ridiculous'_ Johnson also said that a total burka ban would boost radicals claiming there is a ‘clash of civilisations’ between Islam and the West. Johnson concluded his commentary by saying: “In Britain today there is only a tiny, tiny minority of women who wear these odd bits of headgear. One day, I am sure, they will go.” _Also read: Boris Johnson to be investigated by Conservative Party for comparing Muslim women in burkhas to 'letter boxes'_ [caption id=“attachment_4939121” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Rowan Atkinson/Image from Twitter.[/caption] The MP has gathered support from an unlikely celebrity: Mr. Bean and Blackadder star Rowan Atkinson. The actor wrote in The Times, “As a lifelong beneficiary of the freedom to make jokes about religion, I do think that Boris Johnson’s joke about wearers of the burka resembling letterboxes is a pretty good one. All jokes about religion cause offence, so it’s pointless apologising for them. You should really only apologise for a bad joke. On that basis, no apology is required.”