Excerpt:
A public consultation on whether female defendants should be able to wear the niqab in court is to be launched by the country's top judges.
The Lord Chief Justice Lord Thomas said the wearing of veils in court was an "important issue" that many people "find divisive' and "has to be addressed".
He said the senior judiciary was responding by drawing up "clear" directions setting out the principles that should be applied by judges across the country when deciding whether veils should be allowed.