Minister says Burka ban would be 'un-British'

[Treffie]

Banning the wearing of burkas in public would be "rather un-British", the Immigration Minister said today as he attacked efforts to make it illegal in this country.

Damian Green said it would be "undesirable" for Parliament to try to pass such a law which would be at odds with the UK's "tolerant and mutually respectful society".

Fellow Tory MP Philip Hollobone introduced a private members' bill which would make it illegal for people to cover their faces in public.

More than two thirds of voters back a ban like that approved almost unanimously by French MPs last week, according to a recent opinion poll.

But Mr Green insisted such a move was "very unlikely" to be copied here.

"Telling people what they can and can't wear, if they're just walking down the street, is a rather un-British thing to do," he told the Sunday Telegraph.

"We're a tolerant and mutually respectful society."

There were occasions when it was important to be able to see someone's face, he said.

"But I think it's very unlikely and it would be undesirable for the British Parliament to try and pass a law dictating what people wore."

Unlike France, the UK was not "aggressively secular", he said, suggesting the proposed ban across the Channel was being brought in to make a point.

Earlier, Mr Hollobone declared that he would not meet with burka or niqab-clad women at his Kettering constituency surgeries unless they lift their veils.

"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," he told the Independent.

Shadow justice secretary Jack Straw, who sparked controversy in 2006 when he revealed he asked constituents to lift their veils, said he was opposed to a ban.

"I was seeking to generate a debate within a framework of freedom," he said, saying around half agreed to his request and half refused.

Mr Hollobone previously described the burka as "offensive" and "against the British way of life".

His Face Coverings (Regulation) Bill stands little chance of making progress in the Commons however.

The French legislation, which is backed by President Nicolas Sarkozy, will pass to the upper house, or Senate, in September.

Source

[Lithium]

We all have to say NO to the suicidal toleration...

[Murphy]

Funny.. Britain has a long tradition of persecuting religious expression. Their modern royal dynasty was founded on it..

And before anyone jumps down my throat and declares that Britain should follow France's lead, then I will say now you are all fools. You shoot yourself and your people in the foot.

This is not an attempted defence of our European societies, this is the same social engineering crew whom have already dismantled our own identities and traditions now going after the identities of their foreign imports so they can realise their ideal.. a colourless, borderless, faithless society split into two classes; one a slave population, slaves to crass consumerism, the other their masters, a small collection of bankers and businessmen.

We should be thanking Damian Green on bended knee.

[Liffrea]

I’m of two minds regarding this issue, government legislating what people can wear isn’t my cup of tea, though Damien Green claiming it isn’t “British” betrays his ignorance of history, even so the laws of this country (like all law) is largely moulded by custom and outlook, though it would be wrong to suggest he is suggesting the burqa is British it is, I feel, ignoring the spirit behind the laws of this country (not that that matters, perhaps, given that we are now governed by EU law anyway).

A blanket ban on face coverings in public places would seem a reasonable suggestion given that it would cover “hoodies” and the like.

[Peasant]

Damian Green is un-British. We are intollerant people when we are not guilt tripped about things by the establishment and media.

[Don]

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[Duckelf]

I do not see why banning the burkha is an important issue for our cause. Even though the burkha is a ridiculous garment (unlike the hajib which is not), banning it would do little to help our pro-European preservation cause and instead would simply be a victory for secularism. The real issue at hand is the substanstial muslim minority in our country that is disconnected from our own past and is often hostile to our own cultural inheritance and traditions. To really rid Britain of the burkha, the people who tend to wear the burkha are the problem, and not merely a piece of cloth.

[Svipdag]

I was not aware that it is British to allow foreigners who have no legitimate claim on the country to force their customs and laws on the British population.

[Murphy]

I was not aware that it is British to allow foreigners who have no legitimate claim on the country to force their customs and laws on the British population.

It actually is very British.

[Wyn]

It actually is very British.

Probably not. I can't think of historic examples.