Closed petition Ban face coverings in public

Petition progress

View all updates for this petition, with the most recent first.

• 17 February 2019

  Petition closed

• 21 December 2018

  Government responded to this petition

  The Government does not support a general ban on the wearing of face coverings in public.

  Read the response in full

  Face coverings have a variety of legitimate purposes and as such the Government does not support a general ban on face coverings in public, including the wearing of the veil.

  The Police already have powers under section 60AA of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 to seize materials being used to hide someone’s face when the police have reason to believe that they are being, or could be, worn wholly or mainly for the purposes of concealing identity (in connection with, or in anticipation of, the commission of an offence). These powers are designed particularly for public order situations, such as protests, marches and demonstrations.

  However, there clearly will be circumstances when covering the face would be inappropriate, and institutions such as hospitals, schools, courts and the border force, as well as employers more generally, are free to set their own policies. So we support the right of individual organisations such as these to restrict the wearing of face coverings through legitimate dress codes, or for instance reasons of security, identification or health and safety.

  Home Office

• 11 December 2018

  Government will respond to this petition

  This petition got more than 10,000 signatures meaning that government will respond to it.

• 17 August 2018

  Petition published

  This petition can now be signed.

  If this petition gets 10,000 signatures, government will respond to it.

  If this petition gets 100,000 signatures, it will be considered for debate in Parliament.

  This petition will stay open until 17 February 2019.