‘Looks like a Muslim metropolis’: Reform UK mayoral candidate suggests burqa stop-and-search in London; faces backlash

Reform UK’s newly introduced London mayoral candidate, Laila Cunningham, has sparked controversy after suggesting that ladies sporting the burqa needs to be topic to stop-and-search checks. Critics have warned that the remarks might endanger Muslim ladies and deepen social divisions within the capital.Cunningham, who was named Reform UK’s candidate for the 2028 London mayoral election final week, made the feedback throughout an interview on the Commonplace podcast, as reported by the Guardian. Arguing in opposition to face coverings in public, she stated, “Nobody ought to cowl their face in an open society. It needs to be assumed that if you happen to’re hiding your face, you’re hiding it for a prison cause.”She additionally described elements of the capital as feeling culturally unfamiliar, saying: “If you happen to go to elements of London, it does really feel like a Muslim metropolis. The indicators are written in a special language. You’ve received burqas being offered in markets.” Cunningham stated London ought to have “one civic tradition” and that it “needs to be British.”The remarks have triggered a robust backlash, notably from Muslim teams and political leaders. Cunningham, a former Crown Prosecution Service prosecutor and a British-born Muslim of Egyptian descent, has additionally confronted Islamophobic abuse since her candidacy was introduced.Shaista Gohir, a crossbench peer and chief government of the Muslim Ladies’s Community UK, described Cunningham’s feedback as “harmful” and a “canine whistle” to racists. She stated the statements would additional alienate Muslim ladies, together with the small minority who select to put on a burqa.Gohir stated her organisation had been pressured to take away signage and workers images from its workplaces after an increase in abusive and threatening correspondence. “We’ve had letters despatched about grooming gangs saying all Muslims are scum, Muslims are filth,” she stated. “It’s hateful stuff, so clearly persons are fearful.”Regardless of Cunningham’s background, Gohir stated the feedback risked reinforcing exclusion. She stated Cunningham was “sending a message to Muslims that they don’t belong” and was “emboldening individuals who already abuse Muslims and influencing these people who find themselves studying this misinformation”.Questioning the political focus of the remarks, Gohir added: “The variety of Muslim ladies who put on the burqa on this nation is tiny, and but [Cunningham] has chosen to deal with that as an alternative of the NHS, colleges or the price of dwelling. Is she going to get the police to arrest rich burqa-wearing guests in Harrods, or is it simply ladies in Whitechapel?”London Mayor Sadiq Khan additionally weighed in on the controversy whereas talking to LBC radio, saying makes an attempt to divide communities weren’t new however needs to be resisted. “Virtually with out argument, our metropolis is the best metropolis on the planet due to our variety,” he stated. “I imply, how far again do you wish to go by way of freedom of faith, freedom of expression and so forth? These are quintessentially British rights that we’re so pleased with.”Labour MP Afzal Khan, who represents Manchester Rusholme, described Cunningham’s feedback as a “deliberate and cynical ploy”, accusing politicians of utilizing divisive rhetoric for electoral acquire. “That is all about divisive concepts being pumped into the society intentionally for electoral advantages,” he stated.Khan additionally pointed to previous analysis displaying that feedback by former prime minister Boris Johnson evaluating veiled Muslim ladies to letterboxes had been adopted by an increase in anti-Muslim abuse. “There are penalties for the phrase that politicians use,” he stated. “What anybody wears is not any enterprise of the state or the politicians. People have the liberty to decide on.”The difficulty of the veil has beforehand triggered tensions inside Reform UK. In July final 12 months, the get together’s former chair, Zia Yusuf, criticised a name by Reform MP Sarah Pochin for a burqa ban, describing it as “dumb” and never get together coverage, in accordance with the Guardian.