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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Blair defends Straw veil comments | Blair defends Straw veil comments |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Prime Minister Tony Blair has told the BBC Jack Straw's decision to open a debate about Muslim women wearing full face veils was "perfectly sensible". | Prime Minister Tony Blair has told the BBC Jack Straw's decision to open a debate about Muslim women wearing full face veils was "perfectly sensible". |
| Mr Straw suggested wearing full face veils could harm community relations. | Mr Straw suggested wearing full face veils could harm community relations. |
| Mr Blair said the Commons leader had raised the issue in a "measured and considered" way, and cautioned against people getting "hysterical" about it. | Mr Blair said the Commons leader had raised the issue in a "measured and considered" way, and cautioned against people getting "hysterical" about it. |
| It was important to raise such issues "if we want to break down barriers" between people, cultures and religions. | It was important to raise such issues "if we want to break down barriers" between people, cultures and religions. |
| The subject arose after Mr Straw said last week that he now asked Muslim women to take off full veils at his constituency surgery. | The subject arose after Mr Straw said last week that he now asked Muslim women to take off full veils at his constituency surgery. |
| Mr Blair stopped short of saying he would make the same request, but said having a measured debate was important. | Mr Blair stopped short of saying he would make the same request, but said having a measured debate was important. |
| 'Break down barriers' | 'Break down barriers' |
| "I think it's perfectly sensible if you raise it in a measured and considered way which he [Jack Straw] did, to have a proper public discussion about it," he said. | "I think it's perfectly sensible if you raise it in a measured and considered way which he [Jack Straw] did, to have a proper public discussion about it," he said. |
| "How do we make sure people integrate more, how do we make sure people aren't wanting to separate themselves out from the mainstream of society?" | "How do we make sure people integrate more, how do we make sure people aren't wanting to separate themselves out from the mainstream of society?" |
| Mr Straw said last week he did not want to be "prescriptive" but he believed that covering people's faces could make community relations more difficult. | Mr Straw said last week he did not want to be "prescriptive" but he believed that covering people's faces could make community relations more difficult. |
| He is Labour MP for Blackburn, where between 25% and 30% of residents are Muslim. | He is Labour MP for Blackburn, where between 25% and 30% of residents are Muslim. |
| "Communities are bound together partly by informal chance relations between strangers - people being able to acknowledge each other in the street or being able to pass the time of day," he said. | "Communities are bound together partly by informal chance relations between strangers - people being able to acknowledge each other in the street or being able to pass the time of day," he said. |
| "That's made more difficult if people are wearing a veil. That's just a fact of life." | "That's made more difficult if people are wearing a veil. That's just a fact of life." |
| Some Muslims called his remarks insulting but others said they understood his concerns. | Some Muslims called his remarks insulting but others said they understood his concerns. |