LONDON, Feb 20: The veil is a mark of separation and defiance against mainstream British culture and should not be used, according to Britain’s first Muslim peer, Lord Ahmed of Rotherham.

According to a daily Mail report published on Tuesday Lord Ahmed has called for a ‘sensible’ and ‘sensitive’ debate among Muslims on whether veils were needed in today’s society.

The Labour peer said he did not want the face veil, naqab, to be banned by law but said they were meant to be worn so women would not be harassed but were now having the opposite effect in Britain.

Lord Ahmed made his comments after leading a debate in Doha, Qatar, on Monday in which he spoke first on the motion: “This House believes that naqab (the face veil) is a barrier to integration in the West.”

Lord Ahmed, who became the first Muslim peer in 1988, told the Yorkshire Post: “The veil is now a mark of separation, segregation and defiance against mainstream British culture.

“But there’s nothing in the Quran to say that the wearing of a naqab is desirable, let alone compulsory. It’s purely cultural. It’s an identity thing which has been misinterpreted. “They were supposed to be worn so that women wouldn’t be harassed.

“But my argument is that women, and communities as a whole, are now being harassed because they are wearing them.” He said the veil was a “physical barrier to integration”.

The peer said Muslims in Britain must become more sensitive to their surroundings, in the same way as Westerners walking around the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh would need to wear a head covering and long clothing before they could expect to engage with local people.

He said he did not want to see a ban on veils, but added: “Muslims need to have a debate among ourselves about whether we need them.”

“We need to re-engage as responsible British citizens and be seen once more as contributors to society rather than people who are a burden, living parallel lives,” he told the paper.

His comments follow last year’s debate on the place of the veil in British society, which was sparked by the Leader of the House of Commons, Jack Straw, when he said that the wearing of full veils made community relations more difficult.

Prime Minister Tony Blair said the row was part of a necessary debate about the way the Muslim community integrates into British society and said the veil was a “mark of separation” which makes people of other ethnic backgrounds feel uncomfortable.

In November, Muslim teaching assistant Aishah Azmi, 24, was sacked by Kirklees Council for refusing to remove her veil in the classroom after staff at Headfield Church of England Junior School in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, said pupils found it hard to understand her.