Reform UK Scotland’s deputy leader accused of fuelling Islamophobia over claim he finds burqas ‘extremely intimidating’
"Nobody will seriously believe that Thomas Kerr is genuinely intimidated by women wearing burqas or niqabs."
Reform UK Scotland’s deputy leader Thomas Kerr has been accused of fuelling Islamophobia and misogyny after saying he finds women in burkas “extremely intimidating”.
Speaking to The National, chief executive of Muslim women’s charity Amina, Marian Ahmed, has condemned Kerr’s comments, accusing him of deliberately singling out Muslim women.
In comments to the Press Association, Kerr said: “I think it is intimidating for somebody to be happy to walk down the street and keep wearing full-face coverings and I don’t care if it’s a balaclava or a burqa.
“I just find it extremely intimidating. I don’t think it’s right.”
Kerr added that Muslim women should not be allowed to wear niqabs and burkas in public in a “Christian nation”.
Reform has brought two debates on face coverings to Scottish Parliament in recent weeks.
Last week, members of the Scottish Parliament voted down a Reform motion calling for the Scottish government to implement a burqa ban.
Ahmed questioned why Kerr had repeatedly focused on Muslim women’s clothing rather than face coverings more generally.
“What I would say is more intimidating is grown men wearing balaclavas,” Ahmed told The National.
“The problem is that whenever the debate’s mentioned, he never mentions balaclavas, he only mentions it now and then.”
“When he has presented this debate twice now, he’s always said it’s to ban the burqa.”
Ahmed also challenged the Reform politician’s claim he feels intimidated by women wearing burqas, given the growing abuse faced by Muslims.
She said that some women who wear the burqa have told the charity that they “completely withdraw from public life now”.
Scottish Green MSP Kate Nevens also condemned Kerr’s remarks.
Nevens told The National: “Nobody will seriously believe that Thomas Kerr is genuinely intimidated by women wearing burqas or niqabs.”
“He is reaching for the same tired, divisive and racist playbook that has been used by generations of politicians who have sought to exploit people’s fears, stoke prejudice and turn communities against one another.”
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
Left Foot Forward doesn't have the backing of big business or billionaires. We rely on the kind and generous support of ordinary people like you.
You can support hard-hitting journalism that holds the right to account, provides a forum for debate among progressives, and covers the stories the rest of the media ignore. Donate today.
Donate today
