Reform UK’s London mayoral candidate condemned over ‘dangerous’ burqa stop and search comments
Reform England’s London mayoral candidate has been condemned for saying women wearing burqas in public should be stopped and searched.
Laila Cunningham, who will be the Reform candidate in the capital elections in 2028, caused a serious reaction after she said the following. Standard He said he would take action to ban the wearing of religious clothing in public places.
“If you are hiding your face, it should be assumed that you are hiding it for a criminal reason,” he said, without offering evidence.
Baroness Shaista Gohia, who served as a counterpart, criticized the Reform candidate, saying: Guard His comments were “dangerous” and a “dog whistle” for racists.
Baroness Gohir, chief executive of the UK Muslim Women’s Network, told the newspaper the charity had been forced to remove signage outside its offices and illustrated profiles of staff due to a sharp increase in the number of abusive and threatening letters and emails.
He said Ms Cunningham was “sending a message to Muslims that they don’t belong” and was “emboldening people who were already exploiting Muslims and influencing people who read that misinformation”.
Nigel Farage, the leader of Reform UK, was previously accused by more than 20 former students at Dulwich College of making “racist, antisemitic and fascist” statements as a student.
Ms Cunningham, a British-born Muslim and the daughter of first-generation immigrants from Egypt, also said: of the standard podcast: “If you go to some of the episodes LondonIt feels like a Muslim city. Signs are written in a different language. “You have burqas sold in the markets.” He said there should be “a single civic culture” and that it “must be British”.
The reform candidate was asked for his comments on: LBC On Friday, London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan said political figures were “trying to sow division”.
He said: “With almost no debate, our city is the greatest in the world because of our diversity… Why would you stop someone from practicing their religion?
“So how far back do you want to go on freedom of religion, freedom of speech and so on? These are British rights that we are very proud of.”
“There are two kinds of politicians: those who play on people’s fears and those who appeal to people’s fears.”
Following Ms Cunningham’s suggestion to ban the burqa in public, Sir Sadiq said women should have the “freedom to choose” what they wear.
Afzal Khan, Labor MP for Manchester Rusholme, said: Guard Ms Cunningham’s comments were described as a “deliberate and sarcastic ploy”.
He added: “This is all about deliberately pumping divisive ideas into society for electoral interests.”
A Reform spokesman said: “Reform UK believes stop and search powers are necessary to tackle London’s growing law and order problem. We also believe police should not have to worry about being accused of bias when carrying out these duties.”
