Kemi Badenoch blasts Nigel Farage’s Reform over support for a burka ban saying enforcing it would be a waste of police time
Kemi Badenoch hit out at Reform MPs for backing a burka ban today, saying policing what people wear would be a waste of officers’ time.
The Opposition leader said that she was against women being forced to wear clothing against their wishes.
But she suggested that Reform’s support for a ban on the Islamic outfit – which covers the whole body, apart from a gauze veil over the eyes – was ‘a policy without a plan’.
At the weekend Ms Badenoch backed giving employers the right to insist staff wore clothing that showed their face at work.
But speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning, she appeared to rule out going any further.
She said that women should not ‘be forced to wear things that their husbands and their community want’, but added: ‘Are we going to send police officers into people’s homes to check if they are wearing the burka at a time when we cannot even keep prisoners in prison, (when) we are releasing them?
‘Do we have space in prison to put people wearing the burka in?
‘This is what I mean by people just saying things, announcing policies without plans.’
The Opposition leader said that she was against women being forced to wear clothing against their wishes.
But she suggested that Reform’s support for a ban on the Islamic outfit – which covers the whole body, apart from a gauze veil over the eyes – was ‘a policy without a plan’.
The last week has seen Nigel Farage’s party riven by a row over the idea of a burka ban.
The last week has seen Nigel Farage’s party riven by a row over the idea of a burka ban.
Chairman Zia Yusuf briefly quit after MP Sarah Pochin asked about it at Prime Minister’s Questions last week.
But other Reform MPs including Lee Anderson and Richard Tice have also backed a law telling women what they can and cannot wear.
Ms Badenoch revealed at the weekend that she will not see anyone at surgeries in her North East Essex constituency if they have a face covering.
And this morning she told Today that she had done so.
British employers are able to set their own workplace dress codes, but could face legal challenges under equality law if they tell staff to remove religious clothing without demonstrating it is ‘proportionate’ and for a ‘legitimate’ aim, such as health and safety.
Reeves pours cold water on Nato demands for more defence spending making clear it WON’T go over 2.5% of GDP before 2029 and hinting 3% will be the limit in the next Parliament
Rachel Reeves played down the prospects of ramping up defence spending today despite mounting pressure from Donald Trump.
The Chancellor stressed that Labour had only committed to hitting 2.5 per cent of GDP in the current Parliament.
And she suggested the ‘ambition’ after 2029 remains to reach a level of 3 per cent – even though Nato states are being asked to agree a target of 3.5 per cent at a summit later this month.
The blueprint being pushed by Mr Trump and the military alliance’s secretary general Mark Rutte would see countries pledge to hit the higher spending by the early 2030s.
A further 1.5 per cent of GDP would be required for ‘defence-related expenditure’. A timetable could be set for gradually increasing their allocations.
However, there are questions about how the UK would fund such an huge increase – roughly equivalent to an extra £30billion annually.
Britain allocated 2.33 per cent of GDP to defence last year, and is set to reach 2.5 per cent by April 2027.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves stressed that Labour had only committed to hit 2.5 per cent of GDP in the current Parliament
The Labour Government has an ‘ambition’ of increasing that to 3 per cent in the next parliament – likely to run to 2034.
In a round of broadcast interviews this morning, Ms Reeves said the Spending Review she laid out yesterday included the ‘biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War’.
‘The commitment on defence in our manifesto was 2.5 per cent… we’ve said 3 per cent in the next Parliament,’ she told Sky News.
The Chancellor said the spending plans only covered this ‘this Parliament’.
She said: ‘We will set out costed and funded plans in due course, but in this Parliament the commitment was to get to 2.5 per cent.. ‘
The generous fiscal envelope set by the Chancellor last Autumn has been put under massive pressure by the economy slowing down and Mr Trump‘s trade war.
That has led analysts and political rivals to argue that more tax increases are ‘inevitable’ – although the funding gap will not crystalise until the next fiscal package.
The US itself missed the proposed Nato target by spending 3.38 per cent of GDP on defence last year – although the sheer size of its economy meant that dwarfed contributions from the rest of the alliance.
The blueprint being pushed by Donald Trump (pictured) and Nato secretary general Mark Rutte would see countries pledge to hit the higher spending by the early 2030s
Countries such as Germany face finding upwards of $60billion a year more for the military.
The increase in Italy would be equivalent to around $46billion, Canada $45billion, France £44billion and the UK roughly $40billion.
Spain – which has not invested heavily in defence up to now – could need to allocate an additional $36billion despite its economy being much smaller.
The UK’s Strategic Defence Review, published last week, recommended sweeping changes, including a greater focus on new technology, including drones and artificial intelligence based on rising budgets.
