Category Archives: UK

Trevor Kavanagh discovers feminism

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Sun niqab cartoon

Today’s Sun features a characteristic rant by Trevor Kavanagh on the topical subject of the Muslim veil. Those familiar with his style will know what to expect. Informed analysis, nuanced argument? Forget it. The ignorant bigotry of a bar-room bore – that’s more Trev’s sort of thing.

There is I suppose some entertainment value in the spectacle of a man who is so incapable of self-reflection that he loudly denounces women being treated as objects and male property … five pages on from a photo of a semi-naked woman pouting at the camera.

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Twitter backlash over Devon MP’s ‘ban Islamic veils’ comments

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Sarah Wollaston niqab tweets

A Conservative MP has sparked a Twitter backlash after she said Islamic veils should be banned in all schools – suggesting they were “deeply offensive”. Dr Sarah Wollaston, MP for Totnes in Devon, said the niqab was “making women invisible” in a string of online comments.

She wrote on Twitter: “The niqab should be banned within schools & colleges; how on earth do they promote equality when they collude with making women invisible?” Moments later, the MP posted another message saying: “A general ban on the niqab simply won’t happen in the UK but that doesn’t mean that it should be endorsed by schools or courts.”

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Post-Woolwich backlash: Boris finally produces some figures

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Back in June, London Assembly member Murad Qureshi submitted the following question to mayor Boris Johnson: “Since the brutal attack on Lee Rigby, has there been an increase in the number of Islamaphobic incidents in London and if so, what form have these attacks taken?” He was told that “officers are drafting a response which will be sent shortly”.

In the absence of any such response, Qureshi was forced to table a further question for this month’s Mayor’s Question Time complaining at the failure to provide an answer and asking whether this indicated that the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime “does not have a grip on the scale of attacks against Muslims in London” since the Woolwich murder.

Boris has finally come up with the answer to Qureshi’s question, which is now available on the Greater London Authority website.

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Lib Dem minister calls for debate on Islamic veil

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Jeremy BrowneThe government should consider banning young Muslim women from wearing the veil in public places, a Liberal Democrat minister has said. The Home Office minister, Jeremy Browne, called for a national debate on whether the state should step in to prevent young women having the veil imposed upon them. His intervention came after a row erupted over the decision by Birmingham Metropolitan college to drop a ban on the wearing of full-face veils amid public protests.

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Daily Express denounces ‘cowardly surrender’ by Birmingham college after U-turn over veil ban

Posted on by Bob Pitt

A city college that brought in a face veil ban has come under fire after it performed an embarrassing U-turn.

Just a day after David Cameron backed Birmingham Metropolitan College for outlawing religious veils on security grounds, bosses announced they had changed their minds. Now anyone can wear a face covering if it reflects their “cultural values”, the college said yesterday. The “cowardly” climbdown came after “politically correct critics” set up an online petition against the move.

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Police face court over refusal to hand over reports on anti-Muslim ‘bias’

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Scotland Yard is facing court action next week after refusing to hand over the results of investigations it was ordered to conduct into claims that it used counter-terrorism powers to discriminate against and harass innocent Muslims.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is seeking a high court order against the refusal, which it says amounts to a clear breach of the law.

The IPCC ordered the investigations following complaints from Muslim Britons alleging police discrimination in the use of schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act, 2000, which allows stops at airports and ports, even if wrongdoing is not suspected.

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Birmingham Metropolitan College drops controversial Muslim veil ban

Posted on by Bob Pitt

Birmingham Metropolitan College logoA college which told pupils to remove facial coverings, including religious veils, for security reasons, has now changed its policy. A city college was forced to drop its controversial ban on Muslim face veils – less than 24 hours before a mass demonstration by hundreds of students.

The astonishing U-turn by Birmingham Metropolitan College came after a protest petition attracted a staggering 8,000 signatures in just 48 hours. Hundreds of students planned to gather outside the Matthew Boulton city-centre campus at 2.30pm on Friday to voice their opposition to the policy, which was criticised by city councillors and MPs.

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