UKIP man quits over burka ban

UKIP’S foreign affairs spokesman has quit his post in protest at leader Paul Nuttall’s plans to ban the burka.

Nuttall has sparked widespread controversy with his proposal to outlaw the full-face veil worn by some Muslim women, as well as banning sharia law and forcing girls at risk of female genital mutilation to face regular medical checks.

Announcing that he was resigning as the party’s foreign and Commonwealth affairs spokesman, West Midlands MEP James Carver ( top) described the policy as “incompatible” with his desire to represent all of his constituents and to seek a global perspective for the UK.

Mr Nuttall’s so-called integration strategy had already been panned by former UKIP donor Arron Banks, who accused Nuttall ( above) of going to “war” with Muslim communities.

But deputy leader Peter Whittle defended the strategy, saying: “The burka is not something in the Koran, it’s not specified by the Koran, it’s a cultural practice, FGM is a cultural practice.”

Mr Carver said he “strongly disagreed” with a policy he regarded as “misguided”, adding: “No-one has the right to dictate what people should wear.”