Britain losing battle against Islamic extremists, claims French 'burka ban architect' MP

London, Oct 16 (ANI): French MP Jacques Myard, who is the architect of the burka ban in the country, has said that Britain is 'losing the battle against Islamic extremism' by failing to outlaw burqas.

The Daily Mail quoted Myard, a senior member of President Nicolas Sarkozy's ruling UMP party, as saying that the British policies have 'opened the door to terrorism'.

"Allowing women to exclude themselves from society by wearing the full Islamic veil makes radicals extremely comfortable, and Britain should realise this," he added.

Myard made his comments while defending his country's recent move to ban the burka.

Referring to the 7/7 London bombings in 2005, which left 52 people dead and hundreds injured, Myard claimed that Britain has suffered a number of high-profile failures in its fight against extremism in recent years.

"These could have been prevented if all signs of extremism were curbed, as they are in France," he stressed.

On being asked if Britain should introduce its own burqa ban, he said: "Of course - it is fundamental to ensuring that extremism is kept in check.There's a good reason why London was nicknamed Londonistan - it was full of Islamic extremists. People should be learning from these mistakes."

As chairman of the cross-party commission, which spent two years investigating burqas and niqabs in France, Myard's recommendations led to a full ban being passed by Parliament earlier this month, the paper said.

He claimed that France had been favouring gender equality since Joan Of Arc fought the English barbarians six hundred years ago and therefore women should stop wearing the burka, which by its very nature excludes them from 'France's secular Republic.' (ANI)