Reform UK would ban all face coverings in public including the burka, Zia Yusuf has suggested. The party’s home affairs spokesman said he supports the move, insisting it would boost integration and safety.

He was asked if he supported a burka ban as he made his first outing in his new role with a speech in Dover. Mr Yusuf told the press conference: “I personally support a ban on all face coverings in public. That’s actually a piece of legislation that has multiple bonuses to it because it’s going to aid integrations, it’s also going to help people feel safe.”

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage also backed the move as he highlighted a recent event in Newcastle where people wearing Antifa face masks had turned up.

He said: “I think face coverings in public are problematic for many, many reasons. Not just religious ones.”

Mr Yusuf briefly quit Reform last year after MP Sarah Pochin asked about a burka ban during Prime Minister’s Questions.

He branded the question “dumb” as it was not party policy at that point.

Former home secretary Suella Braverman, who defected to Reform last month and is the party’s new equalities spokeswoman, has also backed a ban.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was “not going to follow her down that line” in response to Ms Pochin’s question at PMQs last June.

Meanwhile, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said last October that a burka ban in Britain is “not a priority”.