Kemi Badenoch has said she will not speak to women wearing burqas in her constituency surgery, and argued that employers should be able to ban their staff from wearing face coverings.
The Conservative leader gave her views after the newest Reform MP, Sarah Pochin, triggered a debate over the subject by pressing Keir Starmer on whether he would follow the lead of other European countries such as France in banning the burqa.
Badenoch said an interview with the Sunday Telegraph that there were other things that were “more insidious”, such as sharia courts, and that women should be able to wear what they like.
But she said that if people came to her constituency surgery wearing face coverings, whether they were balaclavas or burqas, she asked that they remove them. She also said employers should be able to stop their staff wearing burqas if they wanted to.
Her remarks caused consternation among some Muslims. Afzal Khan, the Labour MP and vice-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on British Muslims, said: “Trying to outflank Reform UK on immigration or culture wars doesn’t just risk alienating moderate voters, it erodes trust in politics itself.
“Britain faces serious challenges: a struggling NHS, a deepening cost of living crisis, economic uncertainty, and a polarised, often toxic debate on immigration. These problems won’t be solved by scapegoating or soundbites. They demand serious leadership – not stunts designed to grab headlines or appease the far right.”
Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, was asked about whether he would speak to women in burqas, and he confirmed he had done so in the past.
Reform’s decision to raise the issue in parliament and Nigel Farage’s call for a debate on the burqa prompted the party’s chair, Zia Yusuf, to resign last week.
He has since returned, however, saying he was not upset by the idea of banning the burqa but had been exhausted and demoralised by racist abuse against him as a prominent Muslim politician.
Yusuf told the Sunday Times he would possibly vote in favour of a burqa ban if given the opportunity, but that there were more pressing issues facing the country. He is expected to take up a portfolio of roles for Reform, including leading its government efficiency unit, which will look at spending by the councils the party controls.
The Reform focus on burqas on Friday caused leading Muslim groups and politicians to accuse the party of inflaming hostility.
The party’s deputy leader, Richard Tice, has defended the decision to start a debate, saying the issue cannot be “forced underground”.
Badenoch said in her interview: “If you were to ask me where you start with integration – sharia courts, all of this nonsense sectarianism, things like first-cousin marriage – there’s a whole heap of stuff that is far more insidious and that breeds more problems. 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.
“If you come into my constituency surgery, you have to remove your face covering, whether it’s a burqa or a balaclava. I’m not talking to people who are not going to show me their face, and I also believe that other people should have that control. Organisations should be able to decide what their staff wear; it shouldn’t be something that people should be able to override.”
Employers are able to set their own dress codes. They could face challenges under equality and human rights law if they were to restrict their staff from observing their religion through their clothing, but rules can override this if they are proportionate and for a legitimate aim such as ensuring effective communication or for health and safety.
The former Labour home secretary Jack Straw revealed in 2006 that he had asked women who came to his constituency surgeries wearing burqas to remove them, arguing that the conversation would be of greater value without a face covering.
