Zia Yusuf said he supports a ban on face coverings in public including burkas (Image: Getty)

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage also backed the move as he highlighted a recent event in Newcastle where people wearing Antifa face masks had turned up.

He said: “I think face coverings in public are problematic for many, many reasons. Not just religious ones.”

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said he was “not going to follow her down that line” in response to Ms Pochin’s question at PMQs last June.

Meanwhile, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said last October that a burka ban in Britain is “not a priority”.

Reform Reveals Controversial Policy on Burka Ban – “It’s Going to Help People Feel Safe”

Reform UK has placed a proposed ban on full-face coverings at the centre of a wider debate over public safety, integration, religious freedom and the limits of state power, with senior party figures arguing that people should be identifiable when they are in public.

The issue has developed significantly since Reform MP Sarah Pochin first called for a ban on the burka in Parliament in 2025. At the time, party chairman Zia Yusuf said the proposal was not Reform UK policy and described Pochin’s question as “dumb”. By February 2026, however, Yusuf had publicly said he personally supported banning all face coverings in public, including the burka.

Speaking at a Reform event in Dover on February 23, Yusuf argued that a general prohibition would have several purposes. He said it could assist integration and “help people feel safe”, while also making it easier for police and members of the public to identify individuals in public spaces.

The proposal has since moved further into Reform’s political programme. In September 2026, Nigel Farage publicly called for all full-face coverings to be prohibited in public places, explicitly saying that the proposal would include religious coverings. Reform subsequently published a detailed argument for such a ban, describing face coverings as a problem for public safety and social trust.

From burka debate to a wider face-covering ban

One of the most important aspects of the Reform proposal is that it is not formally presented as a policy aimed only at Muslim women wearing the burka.

Yusuf’s February position was that he supported banning “all face coverings in public”. His examples included both religious clothing and items such as balaclavas. His argument was therefore framed around the concealment of identity rather than exclusively around Islamic dress.

That distinction became even more explicit in Farage’s September statement.

Following incidents involving masked protesters in Dover, the Reform leader argued that full-face coverings should be banned “once and for all”. His subsequent party article said the proposed prohibition would apply to religious face coverings as well as balaclavas and other coverings.

This represents a significant evolution from the position Reform expressed during the controversy surrounding Pochin’s 2025 parliamentary intervention.

At that time, the party said there was no formal policy to ban the burka. Yusuf’s criticism of Pochin reflected that position, while other Reform politicians, including Lee Anderson, publicly supported her call. Farage also said at the time that he believed people could reasonably debate face coverings in public.

The later announcements therefore indicate that the issue has moved from an individual MP’s proposal towards an explicitly stated Reform policy position.

The argument about public safety

Reform’s central argument is that people should normally be able to see one another’s faces in public.

Yusuf used an everyday example when explaining his position. He argued that someone encountering a person wearing a hoodie and balaclava at dusk might feel uncomfortable or choose to cross the road. He also linked concealed faces to the difficulty of identifying individuals through CCTV.

Farage has similarly focused on anonymity.

In his September statement, he referred to incidents involving masked protesters and argued that face coverings could be used to intimidate others or conceal the identity of people involved in disorder. Reform’s position is that the same principle should apply regardless of whether a face covering is motivated by political protest, criminal activity or religious observance.

That broad approach is central to understanding the policy. Reform says the proposal is about identification and public confidence rather than specifically targeting one religious group.

However, because the burka is one of the most visible forms of full-face religious clothing in Britain, a general ban would inevitably have particular consequences for Muslim women who choose to wear it.

Religious freedom and the legal question

The controversy also involves a fundamental question about the relationship between public regulation and religious freedom.

The Human Rights Act incorporates Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects freedom of thought, conscience and religion. Article 9 includes the right to manifest religion or belief, while also allowing restrictions where they are prescribed by law and considered necessary in a democratic society for interests including public safety, public order and the rights of others.

That means a future government proposing a general prohibition would have to consider not only political arguments but also the legal basis, scope and proportionality of the legislation.

The exact wording of any eventual law would therefore matter enormously.

A law banning every full-face covering in every public place would raise different questions from legislation applying only in particular locations or circumstances. Possible exemptions, enforcement powers, penalties and the treatment of religious, medical and occupational coverings would all become significant issues.

Britain currently does not have a general nationwide ban on religious or non-religious full-face coverings in public spaces. In a 2025 parliamentary answer, the government said it had no intention of introducing one at that time.

Britain already has restrictions on concealed faces in certain circumstances

The debate is not taking place in a legal vacuum.

The Crime and Policing Act 2026 introduced a specific offence concerning the concealment of identity during certain protests. Under the legislation, police can designate an area where they reasonably believe a protest involving offences is taking place or may take place and where the designation would help prevent or control offending.

Within such a designated area, concealing one’s identity can constitute an offence. Importantly, the legislation contains a defence for people using face coverings for purposes relating to health, religious observance or work. The government says the measure is designed specifically to address protesters concealing their identities to avoid criminal liability, rather than to criminalise face coverings generally.

Reform’s proposal would go considerably further if implemented as a general public ban.

That difference is likely to become an important part of any future parliamentary debate.

A question of integration

Yusuf has also presented the proposal as an integration measure.

His February argument was that removing full-face coverings could encourage interaction between people and help individuals participate more openly in British society.

Reform’s September statement went further, arguing that widespread face coverings could contribute to what the party describes as social separation and a weakening of common public norms. The party says its position is based on a general expectation that people participating in public life should be identifiable.

Critics of such policies, however, raise a different concern: whether the state should regulate religious clothing at all when the person wearing it is not committing an offence.

That disagreement is not simply about clothing. It reflects competing views about individual liberty, religious expression, public order and the responsibilities of citizens in shared spaces.

The political context

The timing of Reform’s policy is also significant.

The proposed face-covering ban has appeared alongside a much broader programme covering immigration, policing, national security and what Reform describes as cultural preservation.

Yusuf’s February announcement included proposals for a new UK Deportation Command, changes to indefinite leave to remain, expanded stop-and-search powers and other measures connected with immigration and policing.

In September, the party continued to place border control and public security at the centre of its political programme. Yusuf said Reform would seek major changes to immigration policy within its proposed first 100 days in government.

The face-covering proposal therefore forms part of a larger political argument about the role of government in enforcing common rules in public spaces.

For Reform, the issue is connected to safety, identification and integration. For opponents, the key questions include religious freedom, proportionality and whether a blanket prohibition would unnecessarily restrict individual choice.

What would happen if Reform tried to introduce a ban?

The policy remains a political proposal rather than an enacted nationwide prohibition.

For it to become law, a future government would need to develop legislation, secure parliamentary approval and establish how the measure would be enforced. The precise legal language would determine whether the ban applied to streets, public buildings, transport, shops, workplaces or other locations.

Exemptions would also be crucial.

Medical masks, protective equipment, religious coverings and occupational requirements could require separate treatment. Britain’s existing protest legislation demonstrates that Parliament can distinguish between different reasons for covering the face rather than treating every form of concealment identically.

The courts could also become involved if the legislation were challenged on human-rights or other legal grounds.

Consequently, the political announcement is only the first stage of a much larger process.

A policy that has evolved rapidly

The history of Reform’s position illustrates how quickly the debate has changed.

In 2025, a burka ban was explicitly described as not being party policy, while senior Reform figures disagreed publicly over whether the issue should even be raised in Parliament. By February 2026, Yusuf was openly supporting a ban on all public face coverings. By September, Farage was publicly calling for a comprehensive prohibition that would include religious coverings.

The wording has therefore expanded from a debate about the burka to a much broader question: should people generally be required to show their faces in public?

Reform’s answer is increasingly clear. The party argues that visible identity promotes security, integration and public confidence, while Yusuf has said such a policy would help people feel safer.

The opposing argument centres on the possibility that a blanket restriction could interfere with religious expression and individual liberty.

Whether the proposal ultimately becomes legislation would depend on its final form, parliamentary support, legal scrutiny and the exemptions built into any bill. For now, the burka debate remains part of a much wider argument over what rules should govern public space in Britain—and how far the state should go in balancing security, social integration and personal freedom.

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