Theresa May eyes burqa ban in wake of London attack: Report
The government of British Prime Minister Theresa May is considering a burqa ban and a range of other measures in the wake of recent terror attacks in London and Manchester which she blames on “Islamist extremism,” a report states.
Pointing out to the Saturday night terror attack that killed 7 people and injured 48 more in London, May told reporters on Sunday that the UK was showing “too much tolerance” for what she called “evil Islamist extremism” and called for a review of the country’s anti-terrorism strategy.
A British intelligence source confirmed to Fox News later in the day that May and her team were working “all hands at the pump” to bring about the security revisions she wanted.
Recruiting and deploying more counter-terrorism officers, and pushing for new laws to “round up” terror suspects and stripping their citizenship as a deterrent in case of conviction was some of the ideas considered by the government, the source confirmed.
“There is also early talk that things could go as far as banning the burqa,” it added, noting that all of these reviews remain in the preliminary stages.
“It is just whispers at the moment, but if that goes live, one would guess that it will be enforced across the UK,” the source said of the burqa ban, which has been the subject of debates for over a decade now.
Jack Straw, who served as UK Foreign Secretary under former PM Tony Blair, first voiced support for the ban in 2006, infamously saying in a Guardian article that “I felt uneasy talking to someone I couldn't see.”
Some members of the British Parliament also joined the veteran politician in his stride. However, most of them, including Straw himself, were forced to apologize in the following years after a fierce backlash.
Other European governments such as France, Austria, Germany and Belgium have also faced strong criticism for implementing various degrees of the ban over the years.
Read More:
- French burkini ban stirs public anger
- Germany moves to partially ban burqa
- Austria bans Muslim full-face veils
In her speech on Sunday, May also pledged to work with London’s allies to “regulate cyberspace to prevent the spread of extremist and terrorism planning.”
The intel sources told Fox News that the government was exploring ways to “force large Internet companies to ban extremist material on their search engines and additionally report any content that they find.”
Daesh has claimed responsibility for the recent attack, without providing any supporting evidence that it was in contact with the attackers.
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