In 1999 Jack Straw, then Britain's home secretary, was attacked for being rude about an ethnic minority. There were demands for criminal investigations, appeals to various commissions and public agencies, a fevered debate over whether Mr Straw was racist. On that occasion, he was accused of demeaning gypsies by saying that people who masqueraded as travellers seemed to think they had a right to commit crimes. In the past few weeks Mr Straw, now leader of the House of Commons, has triggered a similar response by arguing that the Muslim veil (ie, the full, face-covering niqab) is an unhelpful symbol of separateness. This week he won the backing of his boss, Tony Blair.
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