UK PM under fire over past controversial comments

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologised Thursday after he was asked if his past remarks had given a green light to online racism.

"I've obviously apologized in the past for things that I've said that have caused offense and I continue to apologize for them," Johnson said after a speech at the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre in Coventry.

Johnson on Wednesday announced plans to ban anyone guilty of online racist abuse from attending soccer matches after three members of England’s national team were targeted following its loss in the European Championship final.

Johnson condemned the abuse leveled at three Black players after they failed to score penalties in England's shootout defeat to Italy on Sunday at Wembley Stadium.

The government plans to add online racism to the list of offenses for which fans can be barred from matches, he said.

Like other countries, Britain has faced an uncomfortable reckoning with race since the death of George Floyd, a Black American, by a white police officer in May 2020, which sparked anti-racism protests around the world.

Earlier in the year, the findings of an inquiry into racial disparities by commisssioned by the British governemnt had been criticised by many academics and anti-racism activists, with some claiming the commission ignored barriers to equality, while others said it downplayed the ongoing legacy of Britain's colonial past as well as its role in slavery.

IMAGE: AP