College criticised for banning Muslim veil

Birmingham Metropolitan College has been criticised by students after telling pupils they must remove anything which covers their face because of security reasons. The ban includes religious veils and the college says it is because students must be "easily identifiable".

One 17-year-old girl, who did not want to be named, said she felt she was being discriminated against for being told not to wear her niqab - a veil for the face that leaves the area around the eyes clear.

Describing it as "disgusting", she said: "It is a personal choice and I find it absolutely shocking that this has been brought in at a college in Birmingham city centre when the city is so multicultural and so many of the students are Muslim."