Senior Tory MP says there are ‘basic values in this country and we should stand up and defend them’
Robert Jenrick has backed a ban on the burka in Britain. The Shadow Justice Secretary said he would “probably” outlaw the wearing of the garment in public as there are “basic values in this country and we should stand up and defend them”.
He follows Reform UK MP Sarah Pochin, who sparked a fierce debate when she raised the issue during Prime Minister’s Questions earlier this year. Asked during a Talk radio phone-in, the Tory MP said: “I probably would ban the burka.”
Tory MP Robert Jenrick (Image: Getty)
He highlighted how Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni has proposed a ban on the garment, which is worn by some Muslim women to cover the body and face, in public places in Italy.
Mr Jenrick added: “There are basic values in this country, and we should stand up and defend them.
“And where you see them fraying at the edges or frankly being completely destroyed – whether it’s Sharia courts or wearing the burka – these are issues we’re going to have to confront if we want to build the kind society that we want to hand onto our kids and grandkids.”
But Labour MP Sam Rushworth hit back at Mr Jenrick as he branded the move “so anti-British”.
He added: “It goes against what our nation stands for.”
Mr Jenrick’s comments put him at odds with Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who has previously insisted she would not ban the burka.
Reform MP Sarah Pochin called for a burka ban during PMQs in June (Image: Getty)
Mrs Badenoch said she would not allow someone to wear a face covering in her constituency surgeries.
But she added: “But what I’m not doing is announcing that I’m going to ban the burka, like Reform is doing.
“Are we going to send police officers into people’s homes to check if they’re wearing the burka at a time when we can’t even keep prisoners in prison, we’re releasing them?
“Do we have space in prison to put people wearing the burka in there? This is what I mean by people just saying things, announcing policies without plans.”
European countries that have outlawed the burka in public include France, Belgium, Denmark and Austria.
Ms Pochin’s call for a burka ban in June prompted Zia Yusuf to quit as Reform UK’s chairman, before returning to the insurgent party days later.
