Robert Jenrick accused of fomenting division by backing burka ban

Senior Tory Robert Jenrick has been accused of fomenting “division and anger” after he backed a ban of women wearing the burka.

The shadow justice secretary said there was “a strong argument for it” as he suggested the wearing of the face coverings “destroyed” the UK’s “basic values”.

Mr Jenrick, who ran against Kemi Badenoch in last year’s Conservative leadership contest, departed from her position with his remarks.

He told Talk on Tuesday: “Well I probably would ban the burka.”

Told that Reform UK MP Sarah Pochin called for a burka ban earlier this year, Mr Jenrick said: “She did, but then you’ve also seen Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, say in the last week that this is something that she’s going to pursue.

“So I think there’s definitely a strong argument for it.

“There are basic values in this country and we should stand up and defend them.

“And where you’re seeing them fraying at the edges or frankly being completely destroyed, whether it’s sharia courts or the wearing of the burka, these are issues we’re going to have to confront if we want to build the kind of society that we want to hand on to our kids and grandkids.”

Ms Pochin’s call for a burka ban in June prompted a row that saw Zia Yusuf quit as Nigel Farage’s party chairman for 48 hours.

Tory leader Mrs Badenoch said at the time that employers should be able to decide if their staff could wear burkas in the workplace, and suggested that France’s burka ban had not solved its integration issues.

A Labour Party spokesperson said: “This is another open challenge to Kemi Badenoch’s authority from her once and future leadership rival.

“Just this summer the Tory leader said that banning the burka wouldn’t fix the problems of integration and that people should be allowed to wear whatever they want; now Robert Jenrick is saying the opposite.

“Kemi Badenoch has repeatedly proven herself to be too weak to stand up to her shadow justice secretary – it’s a complete failure of leadership.

“While the Tories and Reform peddle division and anger, Labour is focused on delivering the renewal Britain needs.”

Asked about Mr Jenrick’s remarks, the Prime Minister’s spokesman told reporters: “So Britain has a proud tradition of religious tolerance within the law.

“The Government is committed to creating a strong and integrated society in which hatred and prejudice are not tolerated, and in which all people are free to express their religious identity without fear of it resulting in harassment, discrimination or attack.

“Everyone has the legal right to freedom of religion, and this includes the right to wear religious attire except where limitations are prescribed by law for specific limited purposes.”

Comments on immigration by another Conservative MP have also drawn flak from Labour and other political parties.

Katie Lam, seen as a rising figure in the party aligned with Mr Jenrick’s views, has been criticised for calling for the deportation of people legally settled in the UK.

The Weald of Kent MP told The Sunday Times: “There are also a large number of people in this country who came here legally, but in effect shouldn’t have been able to do so.

“It’s not the fault of the individuals who came here, they just shouldn’t have been able to do so.

“They will also need to go home.

“What that will leave is a mostly but not entirely culturally coherent group of people.”

A Labour spokesperson said: “The Tories want to retrospectively change the rules to deport people who have been in this country and contributed to our society for decades.

“They would separate British children from their parents and expel doctors and nurses who have been serving patients in the NHS for years.

“We welcome those who come to this country, legally, and give more than they take.

“We believe the right to stay here must not be automatic, but that those who play their part should be able to earn that right.”