A Reform UK government would outlaw full-face coverings in public and create a criminal offence for anyone who refuses to remove a covering when ordered by police, the party said. The proposal would extend to religious veils as well as items like balaclavas.
In an article published in the Telegraph, party leader Nigel Farage argued that seeing masked people on the streets should not be accepted in Britain. He said he was "all for the protest" in Dover but that "this is not the way to go about it." Farage also cited incidents of "balaclava-clad youths" causing alarm in city centres as part of his case for a broader ban.
The announcement followed a weekend demonstration in Dover where masked men blocked roads while chanting against small boat crossings. Kent Police described the event as a "spontaneous protest" and said officers made no arrests, adding that specific statutory requirements must be met for a ban to be imposed.
The party's policy document says current policing powers are insufficient and pledges primary legislation to authorise uniformed officers to remove items used to conceal identity. It says failing to comply with an officer's order to remove a covering would be an offence, except where the covering is worn for a work-related purpose.
Ministers and existing law already place limits on coverings at protests. The Crime and Policing Act, which came into force in April, allows police to set mask-free zones at demonstrations, backed by fines of up to £1,000 or one month's imprisonment, or both. That power applies to people trying to hide their identity rather than those covering their face for religion, health or work, and officers must take reasonable steps to notify the public of any restriction.
Local authorities are also using civil measures to restrict coverings. Nottingham Council said it is invoking a public spaces protection order to ban face coverings in the city centre where police consider they are being used to conceal identity for crime or anti-social behaviour, while exempting coverings worn for religious, cultural, health, work, weather or personal safety reasons.
Reform figures have previously favoured limits on face veils, and Farage has called for bans in earlier years. The party says the next step would be to introduce legislation if it wins power at the next general election.
