Nice to know that the first Muslim in the UK's House of Lords has his head screwed on right:

Lord Ahmed of Rotherham called for a sensible and sensitive debate among Muslims on whether veils were needed in today's society…

"But there's nothing in the Koran to say that the wearing of a niqab is desirable, let alone compulsory. It's purely cultural. It's an identity thing which has been misinterpreted.

"They were supposed to be worn so that women wouldn't be harassed.