LONDON, April 15: Britain’s Muslim community overwhelmingly believes that women should be allowed to wear the veil, despite fears that it presents a barrier to integration, The Sunday Telegraph said quoting an about to be published Gallup poll.

Almost nine in 10 Muslims think that any government moves to ban the veil would hurt social cohesion.

Schools already have the power to ask pupils to remove the niqab -- which covers the entire face apart from a slit for the eyes -- to improve safety, security and learning.

There have been calls for a wider debate on whether it is appropriate for the full veil to be worn in public at all. But a Gallup Poll to be published this week found most Muslims firm in the belief that Islamic women should be free to wear it.

While 55 per cent of all those polled thought that removing the veil was vital for integration, only 13 per cent of Muslims agreed.

Instead, they thought that the government needed to change its economic and political policies toward Islamic countries and show greater respect to Islam.

The poll found that the Muslim community was largely willing to see fuller integration and trusted major British institutions more than the typical member of the public did. Only one in four Muslims wanted to live in a neighbourhood comprised solely of people who shared their religious or ethnic backgrounds.