How much does Boris Johnson care about free speech in Turkey?
From our UK edition
Ankara Shaking hands with Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday must have been one of the most toe-curling moments Boris Johnson has faced so far in his two months as Foreign Secretary. Thanks to The Spectator, the former mayor of London is best-known here in Turkey for a limerick that unforgettably described the country’s president as a 'wankerer' from Ankara. To make matters worse, the Vote Leave campaign that he fronted caused deep offence by trying to use Turkey’s hopes of EU membership to scare voters into backing Brexit. Against this backdrop, the three-day visit to Turkey this week could have been a disaster. Mr Erdogan is not known for mincing his words. The country’s pro-government press is never shy about lambasting those perceived to have insulted the country.
