Britain should ban the burka in public because it poses a "huge impediment to assimilation", Reform UK's head of policy Zia Yusuf has claimed.
Zia Yusuf was quizzed on his position at a fringe meeting at the NEC just four months after quitting as Reform UK's chairman.
Mr Yusuf, who has since admitted his resignation stemmed from exhaustion, had described Reform UK MP Sarah Pochin's call for a debate around a ban "dumb" when she quizzed Sir Keir Starmer on the matter at Prime Minister's Questions in June.
However, has now Mr Yusuf admitted that he agrees with Mrs Pochin about the issue the burka poses to assimilation and even expressed his personal belief in a public ban on the item of clothing.
Speaking to former Tory MP Michael Gove, the 38-year-old told The Spectator's packed-out fringe meeting: "On the burka itself, many countries have banned it in public.
"In my humble opinion, human-to-human social contact, which is the bedrock of civil society, whether you like it or not, and I do like it, in a western, liberal democracy, it's facial.
"I think it's a huge impediment, I agree with Sarah, it's a huge impediment to assimilation. That's my view on that."
Mr Yusuf, who is the son of Sri Lankan immigrants who moved to the UK in the 1980s, added: "I was very quick to say, it isn't party policy, but my personal view is there should be a ban on face coverings in public.
Reform UK's Zia Yusuf is now heading up policy
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"That would include the burka. That would include the crazy Antifa thugs that bear down on people like you at our events."
More than 20 countries have already imposed restrictions on wearing the burka and niqab, including in predominantly Muslim countries such as Algeria and Azerbaijan.
France became the first European country to ban the burka in public in 2011, with Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg and Switzerland all following suit.
Meanwhile, wearing a burka or niqab is compulsory for women in Afghanistan and defiance to wearing the hijab can result in imprisonment in Iran.
Reform UK MP for Runcorn, Sarah Pochin speaks during the party's annual conference at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham
Questions around the burka were made even more salient ahead of Reform UK's 2025 conference when Mrs Pochin called for Nigel Farage to include a ban in his next manifesto.
"I stand by that question and I would very much like to see that in our manifesto," the Runcorn & Helsby MP told The Telegraph.
Mrs Pochin also spoke about the burka during her maiden conference speech on Saturday.
She joked: “My life has been turned upside down, changed beyond all recognition as you can imagine in the last four months, and with that recognition comes risk.
David Bull, Zia Yusuf, Luke Campbell, Lee Anderson, Sarah Pochin , Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, Richard Tice, Laura Anne Jones, Graham Simpson, Alex Wilson and Andrea Jenkyns pose with their football shirts during the party's annual conference at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham
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“The Reform politicians say things that other politicians are not brave enough to say and with that risk comes security, which I now need, which is weird.
“Although my chief of staff does tell me life would be a lot simpler on the security front if I just walked around everywhere head to toe in a burka. Sorry.
“I would make sure it was a turquoise burka. And you can get them, you know, on Amazon, I checked. I did actually want to walk on in one, but Richard Tice said no, he’s very sensible.”
However, Mr Yusuf stopped short of confirming whether Reform UK will include a burka ban in its next manifesto.
"I don't know yet, we'll have to see," Mr Yusuf told GB News.
There has been limited polling on whether Britons support a burka ban, with YouGov's last survey in 2016 suggesting 57 per cent backed the proposal.
Nigel Farage spoke to GB News about what is next for his party | PAFollowing Boris Johnson's controversial "letterbox" column in 2018, a poll commissioned by Sky News found 59 per cent supported a ban.
Reform UK has also stressed it does not have an official party policy on a potential ban.
Following Mr Yusuf's resignation, Mr Farage merely said that there should be a “debate” on the issue but that it was not a priority for the party, given the other major crises we face”.
Meanwhile, Reform's deputy leader Richard Tice insisted that it was “right that we should have a debate about whether or not the burka is appropriate for a nation that’s founded in Christianity, where women are equal citizens”.
However, Reform UK's chief whip Lee Anderson said: "Ban the burqa? Yes, we should. No one should be allowed to hide their identity in public."
Head of Reform UK's Department of Government Efficiency Zia Yusuf speaks to delegates on day one of the Reform UK party conference at National Exhibition Centre
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During Friday's fringe meeting, Mr Yusuf also opened up about his Muslim faith and denounced calls to introduce an Islamophobia law.
The Scottish-born tech tycoon, who said Britain warmly welcomed his parents in the 1980s, warned: "One of the things that is really scary in this country is that we are, if we carry on, we are headed for sectarian politics."
He added: "The idea that we have an Islamophobia law, which makes it illegal to criticise one particular religion, is not only not in the national interest, it's not in Muslims' interests."
Labour MP Tahir Ali appeared to put pressure on Sir Keir to introduce a so-called blasphemy law last November.
He called on the Prime Minister to introduce measures that prohibit the "desecration of religious texts", including the Koran.
Sir Keir initially refused to rule out taking action but No10 insiders later insisted to GB News that the Government is not considering a blasphemy law.
GB News has approached Reform UK for comment.