Veil row: Straw digs deeper

Jack Straw has been forced to defend his comments

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Cabinet minister Jack Straw has waded further into the row over his call for Muslim women to remove their veils by saying he would like the garments to be discarded altogether.

The former foreign secretary sparked controversy when he revealed that he asks female visitors to his Blackburn constituency surgery to uncover their faces, to improve "community relations''.

But asked on the BBC if he would rather the veils be discarded completely, Commons Leader Mr Straw said: "Yes. It needs to be made clear I am not talking about being prescriptive but with all the caveats, yes, I would rather.''

Muslim leaders in his constituency said many women would find his comments, originally made in his local newspaper, "offensive and disturbing''.

But Mr Straw said the increasing trend towards covering facial features was "bound to make better, positive relations between the two communities more difficult''.

He added: "You cannot force people where they live, that's a matter of choice and economics, but you can be concerned about the implications of separateness and I am.''

Mr Straw wrote of his fears in a regular column for the Lancashire Telegraph.

A meeting with a veiled woman had made him consider the "apparent incongruity'' between her entirely English accent and UK education and the wearing of the veil.

"Above all, it was because I felt uncomfortable about talking to someone 'face to face' who I could not see,'' he wrote.

No-one had refused his request he pointed out.

But Conservative policy director Oliver Letwin said it would be a "dangerous doctrine'' to start telling people how to dress, while Liberal Democrat party chairman Simon Hughes dubbed the remarks "insensitive and surprising''.

The Lancashire Council of Mosques said Mr Straw had "misunderstood'' the issue and it was "deeply concerned'' by his "very insensitive and unwise'' statement.

"For such a seasoned and astute politician to make such a comment that has shocked his Muslim constituents seems ill-judged and misconceived,'' a spokesman said.

"Many of these women find Mr Straw's comments both offensive and disturbing.''

The Islamic Human Rights Commission said Mr Straw was "selectively discriminating''.

However, Dr Daud Abdullah, of the Muslim Council of Britain, said he understood Mr Straw's views.

"This (the veil) does cause some discomfort to non-Muslims. One can understand this,'' he said, adding that Muslim opinion was divided on the wearing of the veil.

Downing Street said Mr Straw was expressing a private opinion. And Labour Party chairwoman Hazel Blears said his request to constituents was "perfectly proper".