Reform UK chairman hits out at his own MP's 'dumb' question on banning the burqa amid confusion over party's stance on face coverings

Daily Mail​

a day ago

Reform UK's chairman today hit out at his own MP's 'dumb' question in the House of Commons about banning the burqa.
Zia Yusuf questioned why Sarah Pochin, Reform's recently-elected MP for Runcorn and Helsby, had challenged the Prime Minister about the issue on Wednesday.
During PMQs, Ms Pochin asked Sir Keir Starmer if he would support outlawing the burqa - which is worn by some Muslim women - 'in the interests of public safety'.
But Reform officials sowed confusion by later revealing that banning the burqa is not the party's official policy.
In a hint at an internal party row, Mr Yusuf posted on X: 'I do think it's dumb for a party to ask the PM if they would do something the party itself wouldn't do.'
The Reform chairman said that Ms Pochin's question was 'nothing to do with me' as he was 'busy with other stuff'.
'Had no idea about the question nor that it wasn't policy,' he added.
In another post, he wrote: 'Just to be clear, I learnt about the question and the party's position re it not being policy for the first time on my X feed. I'm busy with UK DOGE.'
Earlier this week, Mr Yusuf announced the launch of Reform's first Elon Musk-style Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) unit.
The party pledged this will look at 'wasteful spending' in local councils, in a mirror of Tesla boss Mr Musk's cost-cutting efforts in America under Donald Trump.
Ms Pochin's question during PMQs on Wednesday triggered disquiet in the Commons and cries of 'shame' from other MPs.
She asked Sir Keir: 'Given the PM's desire to strengthen strategic alignment with our European neighbours, will he in the interests of public safety follow the lead of France, Denmark, Belgium and others and ban the burqa?'
The PM did not answer Ms Pochin's question but instead took the opportunity to attack Reform's economic plans - as set out by party leader Nigel Farage last week.
After PMQs, Lee Anderson, one of Ms Pochin's fellow Reform MPs, also gave his public backing to a burqa ban.
Yet, despite two out of the five Reform MPs supporting a ban, a party spokesman said it was 'not party policy' - although they added it was an issue that 'needs a national debate'.
Mr Farage sowed further confusion over Reform's stance by using his GB News show to question the use of all face coverings in public places, saying the 'debate actually goes beyond the burqa'.
'There are many, many, many countries in the world that are banning the burqa,' Mr Farage said. 'But I think it goes further than that.
'I was in Aberdeen Monday, there was a mob there to meet me, an organisation called 'Antifa', and half of them had complete face coverings on so they would be unidentifiable.
'I don't think face coverings in public places make sense, and I think we do deserve debate about that, which I see the burqa as being a part.
'It's a tough one. It is a very difficult debate, but it's a debate. The Quran does not say anything about wearing a burqa
'It does say they want women to dress modestly. And actually, if you go to Morocco or Egypt or the UAE - Muslim countries - you won't see a single woman in a burqa. It's a relatively new thing.
'There is another social point: People do feel uncomfortable, actually, around people whose faces are covered. And I think it's a very difficult thing.
'Certainly, I think masked protesters who can turn up and demonstrate and, in some cases use violence, should not be able to get away with it.'
At the 2010 general election, Mr Farage stood for UKIP - his former party - on a manifesto that called for a ban on both the burqa and niqab.
But he later disowned UKIP's 2010 manifesto as 'drivel' when he returned as the party's leader after the contest.
In his reply to Ms Pochin in the Commons on Wednesday, Sir Keir told the recently-elected MP: 'Can I welcome her to her place, but I'm not going to follow her down that line.
'But now she is here and safely in her place, perhaps she could tell her new party leader [Mr Farage] that his latest plan to bet £80billion of unfunded tax cuts, with no idea how he's going to pay for it, is Liz Truss all over again.
'Although considering I think (Ms Pochin) was a Conservative member when Liz Truss was leader, she probably won't.'
Sir Keir's response drew criticism from Tory former foreign secretary James Cleverly, who posted on social media afterwards: 'After failing to answer any of Kemi's (Badenoch) questions, he basically said to Sarah Pochin that he didn't like her question, so 'wasn't going to engage with it'.
'Refusing to answer MPs' questions isn't an option as a government minister.'
Mr Anderson later shared a social media video of Ms Pochin speaking at PMQs, adding: 'Ban the burqa? Yes we should. No one should be allowed to hide their identity in public.'
Tory MP Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said he did not support a ban on burqas in Britain.
'Fundamentally I do believe in freedom and I believe that people should have the choice to to wear whatever they want,' he told GB News.
'I wouldn't like to tell you what to wear. But I do also think it's important to make sure that women are not in any way coerced into doing something that they don't want to do.
'So I think it is very important to make sure that women are not being coerced and are able to make their own free choices.'
Then-French president Nicolas Sarkozy introduced a ban on burqas in France in 2010.
Anyone found wearing the covering in a public space can face a fine of 150 euros (£125). It has since been unsuccessfully challenged in the European courts.
Belgium brought in a similar ban a year later, and other countries including Denmark and Austria have got similar laws.
Switzerland was the latest European country to introduce a prohibition, which started on January 1 this year.