KEMI BADENOCH has said she will not speak to women wearing burqas or other face coverings at her constituency surgery.
In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, the Conservative leader said she asks people to remove face coverings—whether burqas or balaclavas—when they attend her surgeries.
Badenoch also said employers should have the right to ban staff from wearing burqas, stating, “Organisations should be able to decide what their staff wear.”
She said, “If you come into my constituency surgery, you have to remove your face covering. I’m not talking to people who are not going to show me their face.” She added, “There’s a whole heap of stuff that is far more insidious... things like first-cousin marriage… My view is that people should be allowed to wear whatever they want, not what their husband is asking them to wear or what their community says that they should wear.”
Afzal Khan, Labour MP and vice-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on British Muslims, criticised the remarks. He said: “Trying to outflank Reform UK on immigration or culture wars... erodes trust in politics itself.”
The issue was raised after Reform MP Sarah Pochin questioned Keir Starmer about banning the burqa. Nigel Farage has also called for a debate.
Zia Yusuf, chair of Reform, resigned over the issue but has since returned. He told The Sunday Times he might vote for a ban but said other issues were more urgent.
Chris Philp, shadow home secretary, said he had spoken to women in burqas in the past.
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