Point 1 - The UK is light years BEHIND other countries in banning or restricting the various types of female Muslim attire, not just in Europe where France, Holland, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, parts of Germany, Italy, Norway, Switzerland etc all have various bans or restrictions..... but also in strictly Muslim countries like Turkey, Syria where 1,200 niqab-wearing teachers were laid-off in 2010, Azerbaijan where the niqab is illegal, Morocco (illegal to even sell a burqa), Egypt, Iraq, Iran at various times in history, plus African countries like Chad, Congo, Gabon,......the list of restrictions and bans is huge, partly due to security concerns, the fear that Muslims are not integrating into "Western Culture" and, in the case of Muslim countries because as they try to modernise they fear that the burqa, niqab etc is a step backwards ie back into the Dark Ages.
A British Tory states the bleedin obvious and the left-wing press, and several on here are up in arms.....IMO this is just an attempt to take a few cheap pot-shots at Boris.
Even Mad Merkel is asking for a partial ban....so Boris must be onto something here.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niq%C4%81b
Point 2 - Free Speech....Difficult one, but in plain English....I should be allowed to say what I like about Muslims AS LONG AS I do not incite others to take violent action against them......unfortunately even MAD will bar me if I express a fairly mild opinion about them, but apparently I can use the same words to describe the Coventry supporters that spat on Navy's son, and I am fine....weird world.
Free speech is allowed in the UK...but only in certain situations!
The West has bent over backwards to accommodate these people, too far IMO, yet still they abuse our hospitality....did anyone read the lengthy BBC story of the Barcelona Bombers yesterday?...1st and 2nd generation Muslims that grew in the West, played football for Spanish youth teams, suddenly build a bomb-making factory and go on a killing spree because of a new radical speaker in the local mosque.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-44890504