[Margaret Pilkington]

I hope he does not apologise. He was clumsy in the way he articulated his points....but he was saying what most of us think.
He was being factual, not anti Islamic or racist.
Those who aim these criticisms at him are just shutting down any kind of discussion.

The Niqab and the Burqa are ways to make women invisible...unrecognisable as members of society.
They prevent any kind of communication and are barriers to cohesion.
What a woman in a burqa is saying(whether she believes it or not) is that she does not want to be part of OUR everyday life....she does not want us to recognise her, smile at her or accept her into our lives or society.
So how is that empowering?
She is also saying that she does not trust the men in society to be able to control their base instincts.