Lord Sheikh:

To Ask Her Majesty’s Government what is their response to proposals for a ban on the niqab in the United Kingdom.

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Communities and Local Government (Baroness Hanham): The Government would oppose a change in the law as being out of keeping with our nation’s long-standing approach to religious tolerance. A ban on what citizens can wear in the street would be an attack on the British rights and values of freedom of speech, freedom to associate and freedom of worship.