Nigel Farage: Ban The Face Veil In Schools, Airports And Banks

What Would Ukip Do About The Veil?

Nigel Farage says the face veil should be banned from airports, schools and banks.

Two weeks after his deputy leader Paul Nuttall said the party had scrapped plans for a ban, the Ukip chief called for a "set of rules" to apply in certain places.

On Friday morning, he was asked by an LBC listener: "Would my daughter be allowed to wear the veil if they went to school under Ukip?"

"No" he replied.

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An outright ban on the veil goes further than the other party leaders. David Cameron, for example, said each school should be able to make their own rules.

Farage called for "equality before the law."

"I don't think the French and Belgians have got this right. I don't think you can tell people what to wear walking down Oxford Street or in a public park, I really don't.

"But I do think that when it comes to being at school, or when it comes to being in an airport or when it comes to going into a bank, we have to have a set of rules that applies equally and evenly to everybody.

"One of the biggest concerns I have for British society going forward is I want it to be integrated, not separated."

Despite speaking out against a blanket ban, Farage has previously argued strongly for one, when in 2010 Ukip made headlines when it became the first British political party to call for the full face-veil to be banned.

But last month Nuttall told The Huffington Post UK the policy had been scrapped, because Ukip was a "libertarian" party.

He said he would support banks that wanted to imposed a ban, but insisted: "We would not legislate".

The issue of the face veil has been under scrutiny in recent weeks, after a Birmingham college reversed its ban on face coverings, and a defendant was told she had to remove hers before giving evidence in court.

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