Former UK prime minister Boris Johnson has called the racism row surrounding the British royal family “normal” and “not remotely racist”.
The racism row has reared its head once more in the wake of Omid Scobie’s tell-all book, which hit the stands on Tuesday.
While the English version made no mention of who said what, a misprint in the recalled Dutch translation pointed the finger at two senior royals.
The revelation of the accused royals made headlines around the world and saw Dutch versions of the book pulled from shelves.
In a piece for the Daily Mail, Mr Johnson pointed out families usually wonder what a new, unborn baby may look like.
Mr Johnson wrote: “To ask such questions, in anticipation of a happy event, is simple human nature.
“It is one of the greatest joys and mysteries of life that we have no real idea, in utero, what our children will look like … that, I expect, was exactly the kind of ruminative debate that the so-called royal racist was having.”
He went on to use his op-ed to attack “wokery and cancel culture”, which he believes is at the heart of the latest royal fiasco.
He said: “Frankly, I neither know nor care which royal said something about Archie, but I am certain that he or she was not remotely racist.
“It’s time to stop all this nonsense, and re-draw the distinction between the ugliness of racism and prejudice — against which we have abundant statutes — and ordinary, innocent patterns of human thought and behaviour.”
Author Mr Scobie insists he never included any names in the original text.
He told BBC’s Newsnight that a “full investigation” will now be carried out into how the names appeared in the Dutch edition of his book.
When asked if the “buck stops” with him, he replied: “It doesn’t stop with me because there are irresponsible people in this country that have broken the law and repeated names that should never have been repeated, should never be named.
“The book I wrote, the book I edited, the book I signed off on did not have names. So, I’m as frustrated as everyone else.”
It is understood Buckingham Palace is considering all options following the publication of the two names.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment when contacted by PA. Kensington Palace has also been approached for a comment.
