Badenoch says organisations should be able to decide if staff can wear burkas

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said employers should be able to decide if their staff can wear burkas in the workplace.

Mrs Badenoch also said people who come to her constituency surgeries must remove their face coverings “whether it’s a burka or a balaclava”.

Ms Badenoch posted a video on X of part of her interview with the Telegraph, in which she said: “My view is that people should be allowed to wear whatever they want, not what their husband is asking them to wear or what their community says that they should wear.

“I personally have strong views about face coverings.

“If you come into my constituency surgery, you have to remove your face covering, whether it’s a burka or a balaclava.

“I’m not talking to people who are not going to show me their face.

“Organisations shoul