I agree 100% with Michael. And on the point about the burqa/niqab being 'oppressive', the impression one gets from the media is that many, perhaps most, veil wearers in Britain and France do so (however misguidedly, some may say) of their own free choice, and that they regard it as an act of religious devotion.

As an Englishman, I claim the right to dress as I like. My fellow Englishmen and Englishwomen have the same right.