...Douglas Murray, director of the think tank The Centre for Social Cohesion (said): "People shouldn't have the right to hide themselves away in society," he says. "Cutting yourself off from society is threatening when we have known terrorists to try to escape wearing a burka. Men who said they had to wear balaclavas would be very unlikely to be allowed into banks or to travel on most public transport. Ask yourself this: can you imagine asking the time or for directions from a woman in a burka?"

To Murray, Sarkozy is showing "moral leadership", unlike the "spineless" British politicians who would never dare to reflect the majority view. To do so would risk accusations of committing an offence against religious belief. As he, as well as many Muslims, have pointed out, the Koran says nothing about how women should dress, apart from calling for modesty. The call to cover up comes from the hadith – interpretations of the Koran written many years after the death of the Prophet, and largely dictated by prevailing Middle Eastern custom.

"The Koran," says Dr Hasan," says that Muslims should respect local customs." In Britain or France that doesn't have to mean wearing bikinis. A Muslim waitress was last week awarded £3,000 for being asked to wear a revealing dress. Those who do cover their faces should be subject to regulation. "A naturist is free to walk around naked at home, but not down Oxford Street," says Murray. "The same should go for the veil."