The newly announced Reform UK candidate for London mayor, Laila Cunningham, has ignited a fierce political row and been accused of endangering Muslim communities after calling for women wearing the burqa to be subject to police stop and search powers.
Divisive Comments on 'Open Society'
Cunningham, a former Crown Prosecution Service prosecutor, made the controversial remarks during an interview on the Standard podcast. She stated that in an open society, no one should cover their face, asserting "it has to be assumed that if you're hiding your face, you're hiding it for a criminal reason."
She further commented on her perception of parts of London, saying it "does feel like a Muslim city" where signs are in different languages and burqas are sold in markets. Cunningham argued there should be "one civic culture" and that it "should be British."
Swift Condemnation and Warnings of Real-World Harm
The response from political figures and community leaders was swift and severe. Labour peer Shaista Gohir, who chairs the Muslim Women's Network UK, labelled the comments "dangerous" and a "dog whistle" to racists.
Gohir revealed her charity has already been forced to remove external signage and staff profile pictures due to a sharp increase in abusive and threatening communications. "We've had letters sent about grooming gangs saying all Muslims are scum, Muslims are filth," she said, highlighting the tangible climate of fear.
She criticised Cunningham for focusing on a tiny minority of Muslim women who wear the burqa instead of pressing issues like the NHS, schools, or the cost of living. "Is she going to get the police to arrest wealthy burqa-wearing visitors in Harrods, or is it just women in Whitechapel?" Gohir questioned.
Political Repercussions and Historical Parallels
London's current mayor, Sadiq Khan, responded on LBC, stating that a mayor's job is to unite people, not sow division. He championed London's diversity as the source of its greatness and defended freedom of religion and expression as "quintessentially British rights."
Labour MP Afzal Khan pointed to the dangerous precedent of such rhetoric, citing research that showed a surge in anti-Muslim attacks following Boris Johnson's past comments comparing veiled women to letterboxes. "There are consequences for the word that politicians use," he warned, emphasising that personal attire is not the business of the state.
The controversy also exposes internal tensions within Reform UK. Last July, party figure Zia Yusuf described a call from a Reform MP for a burqa ban as "dumb," noting it was not party policy. Yusuf has since reposted Cunningham's interview on social media platform X.
Adding a layer of complexity to the situation, Cunningham herself is a British-born Muslim of Egyptian descent and has reportedly faced Islamophobic abuse since her candidacy for the 2028 mayoral election was announced last week.
