An impromptu recital of a Kipling poem by Boris Johnson on a visit to the Shwedagon pagoda was so embarrassing the UK ambassador was forced to stop him, reports the Guardian.
“It is stunning he would do this there,” said Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK. “There is a sensitivity about British colonialism and it is something that people in Burma are still resentful about. British colonial times were seen as a humiliation and an insult. It shows an incredible lack of understanding especially now we are seeing the impact of Buddhist nationalism, especially in Rakine state.”