Straw faces anger over asking for veils to be removed

BRITISH foreign minister Jack Straw is facing an angry backlash for asking Muslim women to discard their veils.

The Commons Leader stood by his controversial plea despite condemnation from Muslim leaders and many of his own Blackburn constituents and the prime minister’s efforts to distance himself from the remarks.

Amid criticism from political opponents, Downing Street said Mr Straw was expressing a personal opinion which did not reflect Government policy.

The row came after Mr Straw revealed in his local paper that he asks female visitors to his constituency surgeries to uncover their faces, to improve “community relations”.

Yesterday he went further, adding that he would rather the veils were discarded completely.

Mr Straw said communities were bound together by people’s face-to-face relations in the street.

“That’s made more difficult if people are wearing a veil. That’s just a fact of life,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “I understand the concerns but I hope, however, there can be a mature debate about this.”

On the streets of his Blackburn constituency, where one-in-five people are Muslim, his comments were poorly received.

Baksedha Khan, 34, of Audley, accused him of using the issue to advance his bid for the deputy leadership of the Labour Party.

She asked: “Why is he making a big issue of this now?

“Does he have an ulterior motive? I think this is all about his political future and he is looking for publicity.”

Their condemnation followed criticism from the Lancashire Council of Mosques that Mr Straw had “misunderstood” the issue.

The council said it was “deeply concerned” by his “very insensitive and unwise” statement, while the Islamic Human Rights Commission said Mr Straw was “selectively discriminating”.

But others backed his call for a discussion, with Muslim peer Baroness Pola Uddin saying there was a need for a “measured debate”.