Zia Yusuf: ‘I would probably support a ban on the burqa’
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Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf tells The News Agents he supports calls from his MPs to ban the burqa, but claims the conversation extends to all face coverings in public.
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In brief…
- Zia Yusuf, who called Reform MP Sarah Pochin’s House of Commons call for a ban on burqa in the UK “dumb”, and then briefly stepped down from his chairman role, says he supports calls for an end of the traditional Muslim face covering.
- Yusuf, whose parents arrived in the UK from Sri Lanka in the 1980s, insists Reform’s conversation around the burqa is not driven by racism.
- He describes Reform UK’s leader Nigel Farage as “the ultimate political founder”, and believes Brexit will one day be celebrated as a success.
What’s the story?
When Reform UK’s Sarah Pochin stood in the House of Commons to call on Keir Starmer to ban the burqa, it wasn’t only MPs who expressed their disapproval of her suggestion – it was her own party members too.
Not least Reform chairman Zia Yusuf, who described her comments as “dumb”, and stated that a ban on the burqa is not party policy. Shortly after the incident, he stepped down from his role, saying it was no longer a “good use” of his time.
Two days later, he returned to the role, blaming his comments on “exhaustion”.
Yusuf tells The News Agents he has apologised to every Reform UK MP for his comments on social media, and he regrets what he said.
He now says he would support a ban on the burqa, and all face coverings in public – despite the question made in the House of Commons only targeting one small group of people.
It is estimated that 14,000 women wear the burqa in the UK.
“I was frustrated that I didn't know anything about it,” Yusuf tells Lewis Goodall.
“I’m not a member of parliament, so it's perfectly reasonable, frankly, for me to not learn about it. The other MPs did know about it.
Since her question in the commons, Pochin has publicly spoken several times about people in the UK who choose to wear the burqa, but Yusuf insists she does not believe this is the most important concern for the Runcorn and Helsby MP.
"I'm not saying she doesn't care about it, but that doesn't mean that she thinks that it's one of the most pressing issues the country faces," Yusuf says.
"I speak to Sarah almost every day, and I can tell you that that's not the case."
Is this a ‘freedom of speech’ issue?
As a Muslim, born to migrant parents who arrived in the UK from Sri Lanka in the 1980s, Yusuf says it is important to him to make his position on the traditional face covering known.
"I'm not saying it's an easy decision, and the discussion around it is often super reductive and unhelpful, but I would be probably in favour of a ban," Yusuf says.
"Not just on the burqa, but on public face coverings in general.
"I've seen Antifa thugs firsthand, threatening Nigel, threatening our supporters, knocking the tooth out of one of Nigel's security staff, and there were no arrests."
No Reform UK MP has asked Parliament for a ban on balaclavas or any other face covering – apart from the burqa.
Yusuf says his concerns around women who wear the burqa in public is about "assimilation and integration", and insists there is no racism among Reform's MPs or members when it comes to discussions of a ban.
"You have to balance the important concept of freedom of religion and freedom of expression, with the fact that in a Western liberal democracy, most public and human interaction is facial," he says.
Yusuf says the discussion about the burqa is "a lightning rod" for wider discussion about the role of Muslim people and communities in the UK, claiming there is "an issue with Islamism" in this country.
Concerns about assimilation into UK society are focused on the Muslim community because it is a "topic du jour", he adds.
What the future holds for Yusuf and Reform UK
Yusuf remains the Reform UK chairman, but says he will likely run as an MP in a future election, although is undecided where he will stand.
He says Nigel Farage was the reason he first decided to get involved in politics. A former Conservative supporter, he describes feeling an "utter betrayal" from the party by people who voted them into power.
Farage, he says, is a man with "integrity and principles", and "the brightest star" of the Reform Party.
He still supports Brexit, and says in decades to come it will be viewed as a success, but says all it achieved at the time was to move power from Brussels to "incompetent buffoons" such as Boris Johnson.
A Reform government, he claims, would make better trade deals than the ones secured by previous governments – but does not specify how this would be achieved.
Describing Farage as "the ultimate political founder", Yusuf compares Farage to the likes of Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos., saying he believes him able to bring down the "duopoly of the two old parties".
And looking at recent polling in the UK, he's not far from the mark, with UK voters now considering Reform UK the opposition to the Labour government, and Farage more likely to become Prime Minister than Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.
Listen to the latest episode of The News Agents.
