MSPs reject 'racist' Reform UK motion on 'banning burqas'
Opponents accused the party of pursuing a ‘nasty, narrow-minded and racist agenda’
MSPs have rejected a bid by Reform UK to push for restrictions on face coverings such as burqas and niqabs.
Reform’s Thomas Kerr said several European countries had introduced bans and insisted he did not care if the debate made some in Holyrood “uncomfortable”.
Opponents accused the party of pursuing a “nasty, narrow-minded and racist agenda”.
Reform’s motion, brought forward by Helen McDade, called on the parliament to note “the ongoing debate across Scotland regarding the wearing of full-face coverings, including the burqa and niqab, in public places”.
It referenced the “potential benefits of introducing further restrictions on full-face coverings in public places, including consideration of public safety, individual liberty and community cohesion”.
There have been widespread concerns about young men wearing balaclavas and engaging in antisocial behaviour, but SNP minister Kirsten Oswald said the Reform motion did not make a “single reference” to balaclavas.
She said it was “deliberately divisive, racist, Islamophobic and designed to foster hostility”.
She added: “It’s an attack on Muslim women. It’s a disgraceful way for an alleged political party to conduct themselves and they should be ashamed of themselves.”
Green MSP Maggie Chapman accused Reform of pursuing a “nasty, narrow-minded and racist agenda”.
Ms McDade said human beings want to see other people’s faces.
“We in Reform are proposing that no face coverings should be allowed in public places,” she said.
The MSP added: “What about cultural dress? People do not get to just where what they like, actually. You can’t walk around the street naked.
“There was a well-known naturist who was jailed for just that, so we do make rules about what you wear.”
Mr Kerr said Reform MSPs were elected to be the “fox in the henhouse”.
“This debate may make some of you uncomfortable, but frankly I don’t care,” he said. “Our presence is supposed to make you feel like that, and you are probably best getting used to it.”
He added: “A modern, democratic society depends upon people participating in public life openly, in our schools, our universities, our courts, our public services and our workplaces. Communication matters.
“I don’t care if it’s a balaclava or a burqa - they should be banned.”
MSPs backed an SNP amendment stating it is not for parliament “to legislate for what women choose to wear” and which rejected “the language and actions of those who seek to divide Scotland's communities in person and online”.
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