“Hundreds of thousands of Muslim girls are to be banned from wearing veils at school, the News of the World can reveal. Headteachers will be told they can outlaw the full-face cover-ups under new rules being drawn up by Education Secretary Alan Johnson. Schools can already ban teachers from wearing niqabs, which cover the entire face apart from a slit for the eyes. And now pupils across Britain will be told they can’t wear them either…. Mr Johnson’s move has been welcomed by moderate Muslims. Dr Taj Hargey, of the Muslim Educational Centre of Oxford, said: ‘This is fantastic news. It is wrong for Muslims to be given special treatment’.”

News of the World, 4 March 2007