Boris Johnson says US is a 'bastion of peace and freedom'

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson recently called the United States a "bastion of peace and freedom" amid protests which are spanning across the country in the wake of George Floyd's murder, according the Independent.

Johnson was being challenged by Kirsty Blackman of the Scottish National Party about whether or not U.S. President Donald Trump had "many, many good qualities" regarding his response to the nationwide protests and in some cases, riots over the death of George Floyd. Johnson called the murder of Floyd, "absolutely appalling" and reaffirmed his support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

Johnson had some difficulty finding positive words for the US President, saying that he's "the president of the United States which is our most important ally in the world today." Johnson added, "Whatever people may say about it, whatever those on the left may say about it, the US is a bastion of peace and freedom and has been for most of my lifetime."

Johnson was further pressed on the issue of racial inequality within the UK, with the Labour Party pointing out that he had previously been asked to "turbo charge" his administration's response to fighting this issue. Sir Keir Starmer feels little progress has been made on this front however, saying, "There have been at least seven reports into racial inequality in the last three years alone but precious little action. For example, most of the recommendations in the Lammy Report into inequality in the criminal justice system have yet to be implemented three years after the report was published."

Starmer went on to say, "So will the prime minister now turbocharge the government's responses and tell us when he'll implement in full the Lammy Report and the Windrush recommendations?"

Boris Johnson replied to Starmer by saying, "Of course I understand, as I said, I understand the very strong and legitimate feelings of people in this country at the death of George Floyd and of course I agree that black lives matter." He continued, "And we are getting on with the implementation, and not just of the Lammy Report, but also the report into Windrush." Johnson closed by saying, "But I must stress that on the Lammy Report and on all these matters it is absolutely vital at the same time that we keep our streets safe and that we back our police - and that is what we are going to do."

Johnson said his administration was "already acting" to alleviate the risks faced by the black community and other minority groups regarding the threats faced by coronavirus, who have taken as serious hit from the virus. Johnson said they are working to make sure " "those high-contact professions get expanded and targeted testing now." Those most affected by the virus are frontline workers like bus drivers, and shop workers who are often people of colour.