John
07-17-2010, 03:26 PM
A Conservative MP who launched a bid to ban Muslim women from wearing burkas has said he will refuse to hold meetings with constituents wearing a face veil.
Philip Hollobone's Face Coverings (Regulation) Bill would make it illegal for people to cover their faces in public.
In an interview with The Independent, the Kettering MP said he will not meet burka or niqab-clad women at his constituency surgery unless they lift their veils.
He said: "I would ask her to remove her veil. If she said: 'No', I would take the view that she could see my face, I could not see hers, I am not able to satisfy myself she is who she says she is.
"I would invite her to communicate with me in a different way, probably in the form of a letter."
Mr Hollobone's move came after French MPs voted in favour of banning full face veils in public.
The draft legislation, backed by France's President Nicolas Sarkozy, will pass to the upper house, or Senate, in September.
In 2006, Jack Straw sparked controversy when he revealed that he asked Muslim women to lift their veils at his surgeries in his Blackburn constituency.
The then Leader of the House of Commons said he was concerned about the "implications of separateness" and the development of "parallel communities".
But Mr Straw told The Independent he did not agree with Mr Hollobone's stance.
He said: "I was seeking to generate a debate within a framework of freedom.
"I see constituents wearing a burka on a regular basis. I don't need to ask them (to lift it) and I see them regardless. About half agree and half refuse."
Philip Hollobone's Face Coverings (Regulation) Bill would make it illegal for people to cover their faces in public.
In an interview with The Independent, the Kettering MP said he will not meet burka or niqab-clad women at his constituency surgery unless they lift their veils.
He said: "I would ask her to remove her veil. If she said: 'No', I would take the view that she could see my face, I could not see hers, I am not able to satisfy myself she is who she says she is.
"I would invite her to communicate with me in a different way, probably in the form of a letter."
Mr Hollobone's move came after French MPs voted in favour of banning full face veils in public.
The draft legislation, backed by France's President Nicolas Sarkozy, will pass to the upper house, or Senate, in September.
In 2006, Jack Straw sparked controversy when he revealed that he asked Muslim women to lift their veils at his surgeries in his Blackburn constituency.
The then Leader of the House of Commons said he was concerned about the "implications of separateness" and the development of "parallel communities".
But Mr Straw told The Independent he did not agree with Mr Hollobone's stance.
He said: "I was seeking to generate a debate within a framework of freedom.
"I see constituents wearing a burka on a regular basis. I don't need to ask them (to lift it) and I see them regardless. About half agree and half refuse."