An overwhelming 99% of Express readers backed a UK burka ban as Italy moves ahead with plans to restrict full-face coverings in schools.
Italy is planning restrictions on burkas and niqabs in schools (Image: Getty)
Andy Burnham has been urged to back a UK ban on burkas and niqabs after an overwhelming 99% of Express readers (9,203 people) voted in favour of Britain following Italy’s lead.
The Express poll asked readers: “Should the UK follow Italy and ban the burka?”. The result saw 99% vote yes, with readers also leaving a series of strongly worded comments on the issue.
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The poll was launched after Italy announced plans to ban the burqa and niqab in schools as part of wider measures concerning integration and the education of foreign pupils.
The proposals would cover the burqa, which covers the face and body, and the niqab, which leaves only the eyes visible. They would not apply to the hijab, which leaves the face uncovered.
Italy’s plans have prompted debate in Britain over whether similar restrictions should be introduced in the UK.
An Express reader argued that people wearing full-face coverings should not be exempt from identification measures.
The commenter wrote: “Why should one group be allowed to flout these laws?”
Another reader wrote: “Absolutely yes. It’s not a matter of hate of any sort, but this goes against any sort of safety policy.”
They added: “Face recognition applies to everyone, so why should it apply only to those not wearing it?”
A further commenter called for rules to apply consistently, writing: “We should have a country that has one set of rules and laws that apply to everyone in public.”
A fourth said: “If you have nothing to hide then don’t hide.”
However, not all Express readers supported a ban.
One commenter argued that prohibiting the garments could have consequences for Muslim women who may face restrictions from their families.
They wrote: “Introducing a Burka ban would simply make Muslim women prisoners in their own homes because their husbands or owners as I see them will never allow them out of the house.”
They added: “We don’t make Sikhs wear crash helmets for religious reasons so the same rule must be applied to the Burka.”
The debate comes as Italy’s proposals have reignited discussion over full-face coverings across Europe.
Supporters of a ban argue that full-face coverings can make identification and communication more difficult, particularly in schools and other public settings, while some also argue that restrictions could encourage integration.
Opponents say people should remain free to choose what they wear for religious reasons and that a blanket ban could interfere with freedom of religion and individual choice.
The issue has previously been raised by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, who has called for a ban on full-face coverings in public.
The UK currently has no general ban on wearing the burka or niqab in public spaces.
Italy’s proposals will still have to pass through the country’s political process before they can become law.
GB News star staggered as guest demands Britain be sued for slavery: ‘Insane!’
Patrick Christys lost it during a clash with an anti-racism activist.
Patrick Christys lost it on GB News (Image: GB News)
GB News star Patrick Christys was left staggered as he interviewed anti-racism activist Imran Ayton, who insisted people from the Caribbean and Africa should be paid reparations for slavery from Brits. In a painful clash on the news channel, Christys argued that his family heritage as peasants and farmers should mean he is exempt from responsibility – which Ayton disagreed with.
Dismissing white people and GB News stars as “you lot”, she fumed: “You lot like to talk about benefits – we’ve all been lied to. You talk about education; well, West Africa already had education, studied mathematics, astronomy, medicine, law, logic, philosophy, engineering, technology, 400 years before British invasion. That also adds to democracy and law, you lot like to throw that at Black people.”
Later in the conversation, Christys pointed to his own family history and argued: “You were saying there that I’ve done all of this – I haven’t done anything! None of my family have done anything! There are people in Britain right now that have not done absolutely anything for any of this stuff!
“And yet what’s going on in Caribbean schools, and you’ve just done it here, you’re teaching them that people like me and people who look like me have done all this horrendous stuff to you, when we haven’t at all!”
Ayton responded: “Britain generated wealth. Every type of industry – every organisation and institution during that time benefitted.
The pair clashed live on air (Image: GB News)
“Regions such as Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol, Yorkshire, benefitted. And industries such as finance and insurance and shipping imports and textiles, all of those jobs all benefitted. Then that wealth was trickled down. It carried on over the years, and people got to benefit.
“To this day, people that are rich, people who are loving Liverpool and London and Bristol and Yorkshire, it’s all to do with slavery!”
Responding to his claims about family history, she insisted if Christys went far back enough he would discover he was “African” – leading him to demand reparations for himself, asking: “How much am I getting, if I’m African?”