Boris Johnson says he won't be 'bullied' into taking the knee in support of Black Lives Matter

Adam Bienkov

July 3, 2020 10:08 AM

Boris Johnson refuses to take the knee in support of Black Lives Matter.

boris johnson black lives matter lbc knee

Opposition Labour party leader Keir Starmer took the knee in support of the movement earlier this month.
But the UK Prime Minister says he won't be "bullied" into doing the same.
"I don't believe in gestures, I believe in substance," Johnson tells LBC.
He admits that he has appointed no black people to his Cabinet.
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Boris Johnson has said he won't be "bullied" into taking the knee in support of Black Lives Matter protests because "I don't believe in gestures."

Opposition Labour party leader Keir Starmer was pictured earlier this month taking the knee in support of the movement.

However, speaking on LBC radio on Friday Johnson said that he wouldn't take the knee because "I don't believe in gestures, I believe in substance."

The UK prime minister added that he would not be "bullied" into taking part.

"I don't want people to be bullied into doing things they don't necessarily want to do," he told LBC's Nick Ferrari.

Johnson also said that it was wrong for police officers who had taken the knee during Black Lives Matter protests to have done so, but said they had felt pressured into it.

Johnson was also pushed on his failure to appoint any black people to his Cabinet. The sole black member of Johnson's senior team was removed after last year's general election.

Johnson replied that "I put my hands up" on the issue and promised to do more to form a representative government in the future.