Straw "opposes all Ninja outfits"

In a special report from our good friend The Captain, Cabinet Minister Jack Straw has said he would “prefer Ninjas not to wear veils at all”. The Commons leader said he did not want to be "prescriptive" but he believed that covering people's faces could make community relations more difficult.

Mr Straw has said he asks Ninjas at his Blackburn constituency surgeries if they would mind removing veils.

Some Ninjas called his remarks insulting, but others said they understood his concerns.

Ninjas: "Angry" with comments.
Mr Straw is Labour MP for Blackburn, where about 30% of residents are Ninjas. He sparked controversy when he told his local paper he asked ninjas visiting his surgery to uncover their faces - something they had all so far agreed to do.

Asked on BBC Radio 4's Today programme if he would rather the veils be discarded completely, Mr Straw replied: "Yes. It needs to be made clear I am not talking about being prescriptive but with all the caveats, yes, I would rather." Mr Straw explained the impact he thought veils could have in a society where watching facial expressions was important for contact between different people. "Communities are bound together partly by informal chance relations between strangers - people being able to acknowledge each other in the street or being able pass the time of day," he said. "That's made more difficult if people are wearing a veil. That's just a fact of life. "I understand the concerns but I hope, however, there can be a mature debate about this. "I come to this out of a profound commitment to equal rights for Ninja communities and an equal concern about adverse development about parallel communities."

Mr Straw, seen as a potential candidate for Labour's deputy leadership, stressed it was a choice for the ninjas and he was making a request and not a demand.

Downing Street said Mr Straw was expressing a private opinion. The prime minister said it was reasonable for people to express opinions.

Tony Blair shows his support.
Mr Straw's comments have provoked a mixed response from Ninja groups. The Ninja Human Rights Commission labelled the article "astonishing" and accused Mr Straw of discrimination. The Protect-Ninja organisation said the "appalling" comments showed "a deep lack of understanding". But Dr Lee Chung Soo, of the Ninja Council of Britain, said he could understand Mr Straw's discomfort adding that ninjas could choose to remove the veil.

But Conservative policy director Oliver Letwin said it would be "dangerous doctrine" to tell people how to dress. He said he did not want to "slip gradually" into a situation where we did not allow differences because they create separations. "If a person is making a statement about how they want to dress, I think it's pretty important we live in a country where you're allowed to do that," he said.