[just now
Downing Street hits back at Gary Neville's claims
We reported earlier on
Gary Neville's criticism of the prime minister.
And Downing Street has now "utterly" rejected his claim.
The prime minister's official spokesman denied
the accusation that Boris Johnson promoted
racism by describing Muslim women as
looking like "letterboxes" in a newspaper column
before he became Tory leader.
The spokesman said: "I would utterly reject that claim.
The prime minister set out this morning his response
to some of the awful comments that we've seen."
Asked about the former England footballer's
allegation Mr Johnson and other ministers suggested
it was fine to boo players taking the knee,
the spokesman said: "It's not accurate.
"The prime minister was clear that he wanted
to see everyone getting behind the team to
cheer them on. He made that clear on the 11th,
before England's first game."]
https://news.sky.com/story/england-v...ayers-12353454