Former archbishop's comments that primary school teachers should be able to wear full-face veils criticised

The former Archbishop of Canterbury’s comments that primary school teachers should be able to wear full-face veils is a completely misplaced attempt at political correctness, and he should be the one hiding his face, says UKIP’s Deputy Leader.

The criticism follows an announcement earlier this week from Dr Rowan Williams, that primary school teachers should be allowed to wear full face veils when teaching young children.

In an interview with the religious think-tank Theos published earlier this week, Lord Williams said anxieties about primary school teachers wearing the full-face veil in class were "largely misplaced" and claimed “there are other ways to ‘read’ what people are saying.”

Dr Sheikh Hojjat Ramzy, an Islamic scholar, countered that he does not want teachers to wear veils.

The educationalist and former chairman of the Muslim Council of Britain’s Education Committee said: "The education of the students is paramount, and children of primary school age need to see the teachers’ facial expressions in the learning process.

"As a picture paints a thousand words, facial expressions convey meanings that cannot otherwise be expressed in speech.

"I have spoken to many teachers in Islamic schools who wear the niqab outside of school but remove it in the classroom to enable ease of communication with the children, and I have met none who object to doing this."

UKIP’s Education spokesman and Deputy leader of the party, Paul Nuttall said: “How can young children in their vital first years of school get as much from a teacher whose face they can’t see as one that they can? It just isn’t going to happen.

“As so often happens, it is a white middle-class trying to be politically correct and getting it completely wrong.

“It’s the ‘I know best’ attitude of the PC brigade yet again, and he clearly hasn’t actually asked the muslim community what they think, since it has been shown they are against the idea.

“Williams is trying to show he is being inclusive, but when you actually ask the muslim community, they are taking the sensible approach and showing that the education of their children takes priority on this matter. It’s a pity the same can’t be said for former Archbishop Williams.”