Political reporter
Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf says it was “dumb” for the party’s newest MP to call on Sir Keir Starmer to ban the burka.
Sarah Pochin – who won last month’s Runcorn and Helsby by-election – urged the prime minister to ban the garment “in the interests of public safety” during her prime minister’s questions debut on Wednesday.
Her call appeared to go down well with her new colleagues on the Reform benches, even though it was rejected by the PM.
But Zia Yusuf suggested she should have chosen a different topic for her first PMQs question, writing on social media: “I do think it’s dumb for a party to ask the PM if they would do something the party itself wouldn’t do”.
A burka ban was not a Reform UK policy at last year’s general election.
Pochin suggested the question had been recommended to her during a crowd-sourcing exercise for ideas.
She wrote on social media: “Thank you to everyone who sent in questions for the prime minister.
“I’ve chosen one and will be asking it just after 12 noon today in the House of Commons.”
The burka is a one-piece veil worn by some Muslim women that covers the face and body, often leaving just a mesh screen to see through.
It is more concealing than the niqab, a face veil that leaves the area around the eyes clear, and hijab, a term that describes headscarves that in the West most commonly cover the head and neck but leave the face clear.
Several countries have introduced restrictions on where the burka or niqab can be worn.
France banned the wearing of veils intended to conceal the face in public in 2010, with similar bans in place in Denmark, Belgium, and Austria.
During PMQs on Wednesday, Pochin asked: “Given the prime minister’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?”
Sir Keir replied that he was “not going to follow her down that line”.
‘Relevant debate’
Shortly afterwards, Reform’s chief whip Lee Anderson welcomed Pochin’s question, writing on social media: “Ban the burqa? Yes we should”.
“No one should be allowed to hide their identity in public,” he added.
However, some media outlets quoted a Reform spokesman saying it was “not party policy,” although it was an issue that “needs a national debate”.
In a social media post on Wednesday, Yusuf said he had “learnt about the question and the party’s position re: it not being policy for the first time on my X feed”.
He added he was “busy with UK DOGE” – referring to the party’s plan for local spending audits in the style of Tesla boss and former Trump adviser Elon Musk.
Speaking during his GB News show on Wednesday night, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said Pochin’s question had sparked a “relevant debate,” adding: “I think people do feel uncomfortable, actually, around people whose faces are covered”.
“I don’t think face coverings in public places makes sense – and I think we do deserve a debate about that, of which I see the burka as being a part”.
Pochin, a former Conservative councillor, became Reform UK’s fifth MP last month when she narrowly defeated Labour in a by-election in the Cheshire constituency of Runcorn and Helsby.
A Labour spokesperson said: “Nigel Farage could fit all of his MPs in the back of a cab, yet he can’t stop them fighting among themselves”.
Farage backed a burka ban in public places in 2010, when he was an MEP and leader of Ukip’s 13 members of the European Parliament, calling it a symbol of an “increasingly divided Britain”.
Ukip went on to propose a ban in public buildings and “certain private buildings” in its manifesto for the general election that year, under former leader Lord Pearson of Rannoch.
The BBC has approached Reform UK and Pochin for a comment.
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