Cunningham, who was unveiled as Reform UK’s candidate for the 2028 local elections last week, said no one should have to cover their face “in an open society”.
– If you go to certain parts of London, you have the feeling that it is a Muslim city. The inscriptions are written in another language. “Burkes are sold in the markets,” Cunningham said on the Standard podcast.
She added that there should be “one civic culture” and that it “should be British”.
The British-born former Crown Prosecution Service prosecutor, who is a Muslim of Egyptian descent, has faced Islamophobic attacks since it was announced she would lead the right-wing party’s campaign in London.
Labour’s Baroness Shaista Gohir, chair of the Muslim Women’s Network in Britain, described her comments as dangerous, warning that they would further humiliate Muslim women, including the burqa-wearing minority.
Gohir said her organization was forced to remove signs from the outside of the office and photos of staff due to a spike in threatening and abusive letters and emails.
– We received letters saying that all Muslims are scum. It is hate speech, so of course people are scared – she said.
– The number of burqa-wearing Muslim women in this country is very small, and Cunningham chose to focus on that rather than the NHS, schools or the cost of living. Will they get the police to arrest rich burka-wearing women at Harrods, or just those in Whitechapel? – asked Gohir.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said on LBC that attempts at division are not new and that it is the mayor’s job to bring people together.
– Almost without debate, our city is the greatest city in the world because of our diversity – he said.
Afzal Khan, the Labor MP for Manchester Rusholme, called Cunningham’s comments a deliberate and cynical move.
(Vijesti.ba / FENA)
