There were bad-tempered and dramatic exchanges in the Senedd on Wednesday night as members of Reform called for Muslim religious face coverings, such as the burka, to be banned. Politicians from the party said they were "anti-British", allowed Muslim women to hide their identities, and suggested they represented an "alien culture". Plaid Cymru and Labour politicians responded with disdain - deputy first minister Sioned Williams raised the Nuremberg Laws of 1930s Germany and how they led to the extermination of Jews.
The Muslim Council of Wales described "disturbingly authoritarian attitudes" - Reform's Jason O'Connell accused the group of trying to "silence" the debate. A protest, including some MSs, took place on the Senedd steps. It is the latest heated debate in the Senedd on a Wednesday prompted by Reform MSs - previous include a discussion about the Nation of Sanctuary and calls for foreign nationals to be banned from house shares.
There was no vote on the topic. The Senedd would have no power to ban face coverings. Reform UK has previously said it would ban face coverings in public places, including burkas and balaclavas, if it won power at the next Westminster election.
Opening the debate to a nearly full chamber, Reform UK MS for Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr, Jason O'Connell, began by speaking about young men wearing balaclavas. "From Newport to Rhyl, balaclava-clad young men, often dangerously riding illegal e-bikes, have been fuelling anti-social behaviour and making our streets feel unsafe," he said. "For these individuals, face coverings are a way to conceal their identity, to make it harder for authorities to hold them accountable.
"And while governments across the UK turn a blind eye to this, Reform says enough is enough now, face coverings have no place in British and Welsh society." Turning to the burka, O'Connell, who called Wednesday's debate, said: "We have no issue or problem with Islam or Muslims." With opposing members heckling as he spoke, he added: "We do have an issue with people living amongst our communities hiding their identities. "We say the same thing to protesters that cover their face, whatever their political persuasion." Amid frequent interruptions, fellow Reform MS Francesca O'Brien told the Senedd that face coverings, including the burka, were "anti-British". "Not all cultures are equal," she said, "we cannot continue to import alien cultures into this country and expect integration." "Oppressive beliefs are totally at odds with our history and culture.
"Banning these coverings is simple, common sense." Reform MS Joe Martin said the burka and niqab were "two of the many ways in which fundamentalist Islam is uniquely incompatible with Western civilization". "We can't even see the faces of thousands of people who've moved here. If two Muslim women live in the same street and they both wear burkas, how are we meant to tell them apart?
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