Theresa May has backed calls for Boris Johnson to apologise for his comments that Muslim women wearing burkas look like letterboxes.
The Prime Minister today said that the former Foreign Secretary's statements had "obviously offended" some people and added: "I do think that we all have to be very careful about the language and terms we use.
"And some of the terms Boris used describing people's appearance obviously have offended."
Mrs May said: "What's important is do we believe people should have the right to practise their religion and, in the case of women and the burka and niqab, to choose how they dress.
"I believe women should be able to choose how they dress."
A source close to Mr Johnson made clear he was not retracting his comments.
"It is ridiculous that these views are being attacked - we must not fall into the trap of shutting down the debate on difficult issues," said the source.
"We have to call it out. If we fail to speak up for liberal values then we are simply yielding ground to reactionaries and extremists."
The Prime Minister's calls come after Conservative Party chairman Brandon Lewis ordered Mr Johnson to apologise over a newspaper article in which the former foreign secretary also compared women wearing the veils to bank robbers.
The remarks were described as "offensive" by Foreign Office minister Alistair Burt and "bigotry" by former Tory chair Baroness Warsi.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph on Monday, Mr Johnson said he did not want Britain to follow European countries like Denmark which have banned the burka and niqab in public places.
But he described the burka as "ridiculous" and "weird"
Mr Johnson has long campaigned for equal treatment for women in developing countries, especially the provision of education for girls.
Read More
His article stated that there was no requirement in the Koran for women to cover their faces, and attacked "bullying (and) oppressive" male-dominated governments which tried to force them to do so.
Additional reporting from Press Association
