An exclusive ComRes poll for Channel 4 News showed that more than half of the public believe women should not be allowed to wear the niqab in public - with 55 per cent backing an outright ban similar to the one in France.
An even greater proportion, 81 per cent, say they support a ban on wearing the niqab in certain public places, such as schools, courts or hospitals.
Controversy has dogged the niqab in recent weeks. In September, a college in Birmingham was forced to drop a ban on Muslim face veils after a Channel 4 News report, but in the same month a judge ruled that Muslim women must remove the full face veil to give evidence.
However, he said that women would be allowed to wear the niqab when facing trial, and called on parliament to provide a definitive answer. [Channel 4 ] Read more
