Muslim women should not be permitted to wear an Islamic veil while giving evidence in a court of law, a United Kingdom cabinet minister has argued.
Speaking to BBC radio, minister without a portfolio Ken Clarke said that his views were not based on Islamophobia, but rather that it was “almost impossible to have a proper trial if one of the persons is in a kind of bag”.
Conservative Clarke has previously held top posts in Britain’s government including Justice Minister and Home Secretary. Unlike France and Belgium, the UK currently does not currently enforce rules preventing Muslim women from wearing the veil, although there have been high-profile incidents where judges have asked females to remove them in court.
“We do need a clear rule. I don’t think a witness should be allowed to give evidence from behind a veil,” Clarke continued. “I can’t see how on earth a judge and a jury can really appraise evidence when you’re facing someone who is cloaked and is completely invisible to you.”
In September, judge Peter Murphy banned a Muslim woman from giving evidence at her own trial while wearing a veil. Murphy has called for the country’s higher courts or parliament to reach a concrete decision on the matter. “The niqab has become the elephant in the courtroom,” he said at the time.
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