Ukip declares war on Islamism with policy blitz banning the burka, Sharia courts and new Muslim schools
Party launches ‘integration agenda’ but the raft of measures has already been criticised as the 'politics of hate'
UKIP has declared war on Islamism with a policy blitz banning the burka, shutting down Sharia courts and blocking the opening of any new Muslim schools.
The party launched its “integration agenda” ahead of the June 8 election - but the raft of measures has already been criticised as the "politics of hate".
And the press conference ended in farce when their leader Paul Nuttall locked himself in a side room to avoid questions about whether he was standing to become an MP.
The troubled party chief dropped a huge hint that he might try swerve fighting constituency at June’s snap poll.
Probed by the Sun at his party’s first policy launch in central London Mr Nuttall hit out: “Ukip leaders have done pretty well before not being MPs".
The flagship policy is an outright ban on the wearing of face coverings in public places, which Ukip say are “a deliberate barrier to integration and in many contexts, a security risk too”.
But today they went much further by revealing they are in favour of “medical checks on girls from groups at high risk of suffering FGM”.
But the Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas has branded Ukip's plans "full-throttled Islamophobia" and the "politics of hate".
She said: "Now that the referendum has passed Nuttall's party is desperately scrabbling around for relevance and seem to have settled upon attacks on Muslims and fringe far-right politics as their new home.
"In this election the Green Party will be standing up to the politics of hate spewing from Ukip and putting forward a vision for a multicultural, welcoming Britain which we can all be proud of."
Nimko Ali, one of UK's foremost anti-FGM campaigners and a survivor of the barbaric practice, condemned the new policy.
She tweeted: “Forcing girls at risk of FGM to have medical checks in an abuse of their human rights.
“Ukip are not just wrong but offensive as well.”
Meanwhile Tommy Robinson, former leader of the far-right English Defence League, welcomed the measure with a tweet saying: “Finally.”
The Lib Dems also blasted the policies, saying they are trying to “out-do Le Pen” with “insensitive and frankly outrageous” ideas.
Lynne Featherstone, the former Home Office minister who campaigned on FGM, said: “Ukip’s approach is horrifically heavy-handed and will alienate the very communities we are trying to reach out to.
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“We should be training our teachers and other providers such as community experts to identify those at risk and teaching children themselves that FGM is wrong and to come forward if they fear for themselves or a friend.
“In coalition, we put a statutory duty on frontline workers to report concerns of FGM - we need them to have the confidence to do so, and this means better training.”
She added: “Research shows that school teachers are still too scared to talk about FGM, honour-based violence and forced marriage, let alone report it.
“This is where we should concentrate our efforts not forcing girls to undergo invasive medical examinations.
“Ukip seem to try and out-do Le Pen with right-wing policies that are insensitive and frankly outrageous.”
They also want to ban Sharia law from the UK, which they say “is intended as a rival legal system and which undermines women’s rights”, and disband all existing courts.
Ukip also promise a “moratorium” on new Islamic faith schools until there has been more integration by Muslims “into mainstream British society”.
David Kurten, the party's education spokesman, is also calling for the suspension of existing schools with "extreme uniform requirements" relating to Islam, like veils.
In a speech in central London he called Islamism "a poisonous ideology” as the party is making a clear shift from attacking the EU as it slides in the polls.
But the raft of ideas may not yet make it into their manifesto, as they need to go through the party’s "policy scrutiny team” before becoming official policy.
Several surveys over the weekend has seen support for the party collapse since Theresa May called the snap election, and many forecast suggest they will not return a single MP.
Mr Nuttall, who failed to win the Stoke Central by-election earlier this year, is unclear on whether he will stand again.
After a bruising defeat in the February poll, he is under intense pressure to declare another run for parliament as leader of Britain’s fourth party.
But probed by the Sun dozens of times, the party boss refused to say he would or even wanted to run.
Running away from journalists, Mr Nuttall locked himself in a side room at the Westminster Bridge Marriott Hotel with his closest aides, after repeatedly swerving questions - insisting “today is not about me.”
He later said that the party’s ruling NEC would make a decision about his role in the campaign by the end of the week.
Before the farcical end Ukip’s Margot Parker revealed new penalties for those found to be involved in female genital mutilation (FGM), adding: "Multiculturalism is the enemy of women's rights."
Responding to criticism of the policies she said party has consulted "an enormous number" of liberal Muslims on new policies, but refused to go into more detail.
They also said any rape or grooming offence where the perpetrator is a different race should be seen as an "aggravating factor" and treated as a hate crime.
Ukip also wants all official forms to only be in English to force people to learn the language, and they plan to abolish postal voting to try and cut down on electoral fraud.