The UKIP has today called for a ban on wearing burka's on security grounds and I agree with them, as the UKIP leader said "I can't go into a bank with a motorcycle helmet on. I can't wear a balaclava going round the District and Circle line" and likewise hoodies are banned from shopping centres right across the UK so why should muslims be allowed to wear veils that cover up everything apart from their eyes ? criminals, chavs, anyone that wants to commit a crime all they have to do is put on a burka :rolleyes:

 

Should these ghastly things be banned from being worn in public on security grounds ?

 

 

 

The burka and other face-covering veils worn by Muslim women should be banned, the UK Independence Party says.

 

Ex-UKIP leader Nigel Farage, who leads UKIP's 13 MEPs in Brussels, told the BBC's Politics Show they were a symbol of an "increasingly divided Britain".

 

He also said they "oppressed" women and were a potential security threat.

 

But Schools Secretary Ed Balls said it was "not British" to tell people what to wear in the street, and accused UKIP of indulging in "unpleasant politics".

 

Some European countries, including France, are debating banning the burka, but the issue has sparked controversy when it has been raised in the UK.

 

UKIP is the first British party to call for a total ban, after the BNP called for it to be banned in Britain's schools.

 

'Different culture'

 

But Mr Farage said: "I can't go into a bank with a motorcycle helmet on. I can't wear a balaclava going round the District and Circle line.

 

"What we are saying is, this is a symbol. It's a symbol of something that is used to oppress women. It is a symbol of an increasingly divided Britain.

 

"And the real worry - and it isn't just about what people wear - the real worry is that we are heading towards a situation where many of our cities are ghettoised and there is even talk about Sharia law becoming part of British culture."

 

A "different" culture was "being forced on parts of Britain and nobody wants that", added Mr Farage, but he denied the policy was an attempt to grab votes from the BNP, insisting it had "nothing to do with the BNP".

 

"There is nothing extreme or radical or ridiculous about this, but we can't go on living in a divided society," he told The Politics Show.

 

He said his party was seeking to ban "covering of the face in public places and public buildings" but said it had not yet worked out such a ban would be enforced.

 

Mr Balls said he was not surprised by Mr Farage's latest policy announcement, but he said no "sensible" or "mainstream" party in Britain would back a ban on face veils.

 

'Freedom of speech'

 

He told The Politics Show: "I wouldn't want to be part of a religion myself where we said to women and girls you have to wear a veil, but I also would not want to be in the kind of society where people were told how to dress when they walked down the streets.

 

"So the idea that we would tell people that you cannot wear a veil in public, I think that's not British, it's unfair, it's not consistent with our traditions of liberty and freedom."

 

Salma Yaqoob, leader of the anti-war Respect party, also criticised UKIP's proposed ban on the burka.

 

"I certainly wouldn't want to wear it myself, but then to take it to a step where they are going to ban it because I feel uncomfortable with it is something I would say is very un-British because the British way of life is 'live and let live', freedom of speech, freedom of worship," she said.

 

"As long as they are not imposing it on anybody else they should have the right to wear it."

 

UKIP came second in last year's European elections, ahead of the Labour Party, but Mr Farage quit as leader to concentrate on trying to become the party's first MP at Westminster.

 

His successor, Lord Pearson, has said he wants to step up the party's campaign against radical Islam.

 

He told the Times the party was taking legal advice on how the burka, or any veil covering a woman's face, could be banned in public places and in private buildings such as airports.

 

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said the full burka is "not welcome" in France, but did not explicitly call for a ban, saying "no one should feel stigmatised" by any eventual law.

 

A French parliamentary report on the issue is due out at the end of January.

Salma Yaqoob, leader of the anti-war Respect party, also criticised UKIP's proposed ban on the burka.

 

"I certainly wouldn't want to wear it myself, but then to take it to a step where they are going to ban it because I feel uncomfortable with it is something I would say is very un-British because the British way of life is 'live and let live', freedom of speech, freedom of worship," she said.

 

"As long as they are not imposing it on anybody else they should have the right to wear it."

 

I agree with this generally. I don't think you can make the comparison Farage made - as I understand it he is calling for a full ban on burka, so it's hardly the same as not being allowed to wear a motorcycle helmet in a bank. I dislike the things myself, but it's not for me to tell people what they can and can't wear on the street.

 

 

But whilst I don't agree with a full ban, I think some thought needs to go into whether burkas should be allowed in certain places with a high security risk, like a bank.

A ban is the wrong way to go, far too much of an infringement upon personal liberties...

I agree with this generally. I don't think you can make the comparison Farage made - as I understand it he is calling for a full ban on burka, so it's hardly the same as not being allowed to wear a motorcycle helmet in a bank. I dislike the things myself, but it's not for me to tell people what they can and can't wear on the street.

But whilst I don't agree with a full ban, I think some thought needs to go into whether burkas should be allowed in certain places with a high security risk, like a bank.

 

What is stopping say a mugger or robber or someone just dressing up in a burka though ? if I wanted to commit a crime where I could avoid my face being shown on CCTV I would 100% disguise myself as a muslim woman and wear a burka, I just don't see how these things are legal in terms of the security risk they present

 

Bluewater shopping centre for example has a complete ban on hoodies, anyone that wears a hoodie is kicked out, seems unfair that a chav is not allowed to wear a hoodie for crime prevention reasons but could slip on a burka

What is stopping say a mugger or robber or someone just dressing up in a burka though ? if I wanted to commit a crime where I could avoid my face being shown on CCTV I would 100% disguise myself as a muslim woman and wear a burka, I just don't see how these things are legal in terms of the security risk they present

 

Bluewater shopping centre for example has a complete ban on hoodies, anyone that wears a hoodie is kicked out, seems unfair that a chav is not allowed to wear a hoodie for crime prevention reasons but could slip on a burka

 

There are plenty of ways for you to disguise yourself on the street if you wanted to commit a mugging, you could just as easily wear a balaclava or motorcycle helmet.

 

I do agree though that in those certain places where hoodies and helmets etc are banned, they should extend that to burkas aswell. It's just a full ban I don't support.

What's a burka? :huh:

What's a burka? :huh:

 

Surely by reading this entire thread it will become clear!

 

 

Surely by reading this entire thread it will become clear!

 

Tbh, I couldn't be arsed to read it all :P

 

Is it that funky heardscarf thing that some people wear?? :unsure:

What is stopping say a mugger or robber or someone just dressing up in a burka though ? if I wanted to commit a crime where I could avoid my face being shown on CCTV I would 100% disguise myself as a muslim woman and wear a burka, I just don't see how these things are legal in terms of the security risk they present

 

That this actually happened though? I don't think there has been a case where someone was wearing a burka was thieving. The point is that more people wearing hoodies/baseball caps are more trouble makers.

Tbh, I couldn't be arsed to read it all :P

 

Is it that funky heardscarf thing that some people wear?? :unsure:

 

Well I wouldn't say it's funky. The majority of girls don't enjoy wearing it.

Well I wouldn't say it's funky. The majority of girls don't enjoy wearing it.

 

I'd love to wear one :)

A couple of chavs that could possibly use it to rob a convinient store should not stop a religious group from being able to practice their personal beliefs.

I'd love to wear one :)

 

Why though? Would you wear it for religious purposes or for fashion or are you planning on robbing a newsagents?

A couple of chavs that could possibly use it to rob a convinient store should not stop a religious group from being able to practice their personal beliefs.

 

Was that aimed at me? If so, I assure you, I'm the furthest thing from a chav - more Emo tbh :)

Why though? Would you wear it for religious purposes or for fashion or are you planning on robbing a newsagents?

 

They'd seem quite fashionable if they came in brighter colours :)

They'd seem quite fashionable if they came in brighter colours :)

 

You said you're more of an emo which suggests that you'd wear black..........

You said you're more of an emo which suggests that you'd wear black..........

 

No, I'm not emo, just more of an emo than a chav. I still like to wear bright things... sort of scene, but I didn't know whether people knew what that meant LOL :) :)

Was that aimed at me? If so, I assure you, I'm the furthest thing from a chav - more Emo tbh :)

 

If it was USED TO ROB A CONVENIENT STORE.

 

Read plz.

Flat out...no...

... nope, not a complete ban.... maybe in public they should be banned but not around their own homes.