Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said employers should have the right to decide whether their staff could wear burqas in the workplace.
Ms Badenoch also stressed that people attending meetings in her constituency must remove anything that covers their face, “whether it's a burka or a balaclava”.
She posted a video clip of her interview with the Telegraph on X, in which she said: “I think people should be allowed to wear what they want, not what their husband or their community tells them to wear.
“I have a clear opinion about wearing masks.
“If you come to my constituency, you will have to take off anything that covers your face, whether it is a burka or a balaclava.
“I don't have conversations with people who aren't going to show me their face.
“For example, organizations should be able to determine what their employees should look like; people should not be able to challenge that.”
She added that there is a ban in France and “the problems with integration there are more serious than ours.”
On Wednesday, new Reform MP Sarah Pochin asked Sir Keir Starmer during Prime Minister's Questions whether he would support such a ban.
Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice said his party had “started a national debate”.
Asked if he wanted to ban the burqas, Mr Tice told GB News on Sunday: “We have raised the issue at a national level. I am very concerned about them (the burqas).
“I think they're oppressive, to be honest. I think they're turning women into second-class citizens.
“We are a Christian nation. We have gender equality, and I am very concerned about this situation. If anyone wants to convince me otherwise, let them come and talk to me.
“But for now, I think we should follow the example of seven other European countries that have already banned them.”
He called for a debate on the issue to “hear public opinion in the country.”
Meanwhile, shadow home secretary Chris Philp said “employers should be able to decide whether their staff can be visible or not” when discussing the issue of wearing masks.
Asked on the BBC's Sunday Meeting with Laura Kunssberg whether the Conservative Party's position reflected disapproval of people covering their faces, Mr Philp said of Ms Badenoch: “Well, I think she was talking specifically about her campaigning and it is certainly a case where employers should be allowed to decide whether their staff can be visible or not.”
“But I don’t think that this is the biggest problem our country faces right now.
“There is room for rational discussion about the burqa.
“Obviously, on the one hand there are arguments about freedom of choice, and on the other – about social differences and the possibility of coercion.
“I think we as a country need to have this debate, but as Kemi said, it's probably not the most important issue we face today.”
Asked whether he would engage with people who did not want to show their faces, the South Croydon MP said: “I have engaged with people who were clearly wearing the burqa before – I represent a London constituency – but everyone can make their own choice, that's what she meant; every employer should be able to make their own decisions.”
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
