Calls for Britain to join other European countries and ban the burka are growing in the wake of Islamic State terror attacks.
An MP and a prominent businessman have joined thousands of Daily Star readers to demand the Government outlaw Islamic face coverings in the UK.
Italy will join Switzerland, France, the Netherlands and Belgium to introduce a ban in one of its most prominent regions from January 1.
Almost 6,000 people answered a Daily Star Online poll on the issue, set up to check Brits’ feelings after the latest European rulings – with a whopping 88% backing a ban.
Tory MP Philip Hollobone – who has tried unsuccessfully to get a ban through Parliament twice – said: “I’m absolutely sure that 95% of the public wants burkas banned – but Parliament is out of step with public opinion.”
Lombardy – the most populous region in Italy – is outlawing the veil in hospitals and other public buildings as a security measure in direct response to the November 13 Paris terror attacks which killed 130.
The northern Swiss region of Ticino agreed a ban last month to prevent a parallel Islamic society developing within the country.
Bavaria – in Germany – is also discussing introducing a ban.
Even the Muslim Council of Britain agrees Muslim women should have to remove their burka or niqab for security reasons in some situations – like at passport checks.
But the British Government flatly denies there is any reason to change the law.
Mr Hollobone claims allowing people to hide their identity in public by covering their face is a security risk.
He told Daily Star Online: “If a man were to walk into a Post Office wearing a motorcycle helmet or a balaclava the staff could ask him to take it off.
“But if it’s a woman – or man – in a burka they couldn’t because it’s not politically correct.”
But he also warned it limits social interaction between Britons.
He said: “I regard it as offensive that someone wants to go around so no-one can see them.
“It’s unnatural, it’s almost Medieval, it’s demeaning to women and I don’t want Britain to be like that.”
Prominent British Sikh businessman and social activist Rami Ranger claims the burka is bad for the economy.
Mr Ranger, owner of marketing firm Sun Mark, explained the clothing prevents women from entering many professions, such as doctors, teachers, nurses and judges – depriving the economy of their skills and the exchequer of their taxes.
The social activist – who was raised with his seven siblings by a singe mother – told Daily Star Online: “Imagine if Lady Thatcher and our Home Secretary Theresa May wore a burka – out of choice or otherwise – then Britain would have lost out big time.
“We are wasting huge potential of many great women under burkas.”
France was the first country to ban the burka back in 2010.
It reasoned face coverings were a security risk – but also a threat to social integration when people rely on the face for recognition and communication.
But French professor Agnès de Féo – who has spent years studying the ban’s impact – claims it is a “total failure”.
She said it has fuelled extremism and even provided a queue of French recruits for Islamic State.
The sociologist said: “Those who have left to go and fight in Syria say that this law is one of things that encouraged them.
“They saw it as a law against Islam.
“It had the effect of sending a message that Islam was not welcome in France.”
Friends of Hasna Ait Boulahcen – who blew herself up with a suicide belt as French police stormed a flat looking for Paris attack mastermind Abdelhamid Abaaoud – blamed her radicalisation on the ban.
She used to be a boozy party girl but quit her job and dropped out of society after being told she couldn’t wear the veil.
A spokeswoman for the Muslim Council of Britain said: “The Muslim Council of Britain does not support a ban on the small number of people who wear the burka or niqab, any more than any other form of clothing.
“However, sensible security checks on women who wear the burka to verify their identity would be appropriate at specific locations – such as passport control – and we are unaware of anyone who would object to such checks by other women.
“Islamic practices allow for exceptions where necessary and this would be applicable even amongst those who consider the niqab to be an important expression of their faith.”
A British Government spokeswoman said: “The Government sees no need for measures restricting what people can wear in public places.
“We support the rights of individuals in keeping with Britain’s tradition of freedom and fairness.”