A Senedd short debate on whether full-face coverings conflict with British values was branded shameful by Deputy First Minister Sioned Williams after Reform MS Jason O’Connell tabled the motion on Wednesday, October 21.
Members accused Reform of provoking division and undermining religious freedom.
O’Connell opened the discussion by raising crime and public safety.
He criticised balaclava-clad young men riding illegal e-bikes for making streets feel unsafe, before the debate moved towards immigration and garments including the burka and niqab.
Reform accused Plaid Cymru of placing greater emphasis on foreign cultures than on Welsh culture.
O’Connell said the party supports religious freedom in all its forms, but argued that boundaries are necessary where such freedoms oppress women and hinder assimilation into Welsh communities.
MS for Pontypridd Cynon Merthyr stated that several countries have already prohibited the burka and rejected allegations that Reform is Islamophobic and racist as inaccurate and ineffective.
Fellow Reform MS Francesca O’Brien backed a prohibition, presenting it as straightforward common sense.
She argued that face coverings, including the burka, are anti-British, that cultures are not equal, and that importing what she described as alien cultures while expecting integration is untenable.
She maintained that oppressive beliefs conflict with the country’s history and culture.
Shouting followed her remarks from across the Siambr.
Carrie Harper, the Fflint Wrecsam MS, rejected the presentation of the motion as a crime-related debate, describing it instead as an attack on women’s religious rights.
She also noted that the discussion of values occurred during the same week as an ITV News investigation alleging deep-rooted racism and sexism within Reform.
Labour MS Huw Thomas condemned the debate as nonsense and referred to the RNLI and intimidation recently faced by its volunteers.
He said the organisation’s decency and courage in saving lives in the English Channel, irrespective of creed, skin colour, race or religion, represented British values.
Williams said contributions to the debate were disturbing and accused Reform members of deliberately setting communities against one another for political gain.
She described that conduct as both shameful and hateful and warned that political rhetoric was normalising racism and Islamophobia.
Referring to the privileges and power held by elected members, she said silence was no longer acceptable and that their words mattered.
Her intervention received applause in the Siambr.
No vote was held because Wales lacks the power to impose a ban on face coverings.