BOLTON West general election candidate Chris Green has changed his opinion on whether Muslim women should be allowed to wear the burka in this country, which emerged after an interview last week.

In his column in the Bolton News' sister publication, the Leigh Journal last year, the Conservative representative discussed comments made by his party colleague Boris Johnson about the topic.

Writing in August 2018, Mr Green revealed he was "moving in the direction of supporting a ban".

He said: "Firstly, the burka and niqab themselves are cultural items.

"They are not necessarily religious items and have not historically been common in most Islamic countries, although, like here, covering the face is on the rise.

"Secondly, they are barriers to communication and integration.

"The face is essential in conversation and communication – we should be integrating rather than diverging and accepting this cultural isolation.

"Thirdly, the purpose of these clothes is to isolate and control women who often are discouraged from learning English or mixing in with wider society.

"They also make a clear statement: that men need no self-control and it is up to women to cover themselves and any consequences would be an 'uncovered' women’s fault."

At the time, Mr Green, who has held his seat after being elected in 2015, also said a poll he ran on his Facebook page found that out of 5,000 votes, 89 per cent of people supported a ban.

But in an interview with Muslim Engagement and Development (MEND) Community, which was published on Friday, Mr Green said would vote against banning the burka.

He also added that he would "speak out against it".

And in a statement today, Monday, he said: “France, Belgium and Denmark have all restricted the wearing of certain religious face coverings and the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, has also said she wishes to ban these garments.

“My view has always been that in a free society, people ought to have the right to choose what they wear as the freedom of expression is one of our core British values.”