UKIP to pledge burka ban in General Election manifesto
Leader Paul Nuttall will argue wearing the burka and niqab in public is a barrier to social harmony, as well as a security risk.
Monday 24 April 2017 11:57, UK
UKIP leader Paul Nuttall has denied that his call for banning full-face veils in public is an attack on Muslims, saying instead that it is to encourage integration.
Mr Nuttall is due to launch what he calls an "integration agenda" tomorrow and he told Sky News that a ban on veils was a "positive message".
He said: "We have a problem with integration in this country.
"Fifty-eight percent of Muslim women are economically inactive.
"There is a massive amount of jobs which you're precluded from doing if you refuse to show your face and I want to see those women get back into work.
"There's also a problem with language: 22% of Muslim women do not speak English to any great degree and again I want to see that sorted out.
"This is all about integration - this is a positive message, not a negative one."
UKIP's election manifesto is expected to include banning wearing the burka and niqab in public, which he will argue is a barrier to social harmony, as well as a security risk.
The niqab covers the face except the eyes, while the burka covers the entire face, often incorporating a mesh screen to see through.
Mr Nuttall will also propose outlawing Sharia law - the religious rules that form part of Islamic tradition.
The MEP, who said in 2013 that UKIP would not pursue a blanket ban against face-covering veils, denied the proposals amounted to an "attack" on Muslims.
He told the Andrew Marr Show: "We have a heightened security risk at the moment and for CCTV to be effective you need to see people's faces.
"Secondly, there's the issue of integration - I don't believe you can integrate fully and enjoy the fruits of British society if you can't see people's faces."
He added that calls to ban Sharia law in the UK were designed to stop a "parallel legal system" in the country.
Asked if he would ban mosques from opening, Mr Nuttall replied: "Of course mosques will stay open.
"This isn't an attack specifically on Muslims, it's all about integration."
Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage proposed a burka ban in 2010, arguing they were a symbol of an "increasingly divided Britain" and "oppressed" women.
Wearing a burka - which covers the entire body including the face - is already banned in some countries including France, Belgium and Bulgaria.
"Just as we have been vindicated on the need to recognise the downsides of uncontrolled immigration and the hollowing out of our democracy brought about by EU membership, so we shall be vindicated on the need to be more robust in tackling extremism and defending British values," Mr Nuttall will say, according to The Sun.
UKIP will also call for postal voting to be largely abolished, because of concerns over electoral fraud.
A YouGov survey published in the wake of Theresa May's shock election call put the party on 7% - UKIP's lowest rating with the polling agency for four years.