Excerpt:
Belgium became the first European country to impose a full ban on wearing a burka last night.
Its parliament approved a draft law which states women can be jailed for hiding their faces in public.
The bill - which must be rubber-stamped by the Belgian senate - is set to become law by July.
Centre-Right MP Daniel Bacquelaine said last night: 'The notion of recognising people in the street is essential to maintain public order.
'It's also a question of human dignity. The full face veil turns a woman into a walking prison.'