Row over face veil halts tribunal

An immigration tribunal has been adjourned after a lawyer refused to remove her veil.

The lawyer, appearing at a hearing in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, was twice asked by Judge George Glossop to remove her face veil but refused to do so.

He then adjourned the hearing, about an appeal over a visitor's visa, to take advice about how to proceed.

A Tribunals Service spokeswoman said the matter had been referred to the service's president for advice.

"We haven't come across this before, no precedent has been set," she said.

Refused again

The lawyer, whose name has not been confirmed, was acting for a man appealing against a Home Office decision to deny a family member a visitor's visa.

She refused a request to remove her veil and the hearing was adjourned until later in the day.

When it reconvened she was asked for a second time and again she refused.

The judge is seeking advice from the Asylum and Immigration Tribunal's president, Sir Henry Hodge.

The tribunal is due to resume on Monday.