.... With the judge's agreement, the WPC went into a back room with the defendant and closed the door. There, the woman briefly removed her niqab.
The pair returned to court and the WPC entered the witness box and confirmed under oath that the defendant was, indeed, the defendant.
That testimony meant the hearing could continue. The defendant entered the dock, pleaded not guilty, and the process moved along.
But it was only a partial compromise because the judge must still rule on how the veil will be dealt with at the woman's eventual jury trial.
This is believed to be the first time a hearing has been stopped because a judge said a court could not satisfactorily identify a defendant because their face was covered for religious reasons. [BBC] Read more
