MASK BAN Start date for face covering ban in major UK city centre is revealed – risking £70 on-the-spot fine.TA
A MAJOR UK city centre has confirmed a ban on face coverings will be introduced from next week.
The decision follows concerns from residents over a rise in anti-social behaviour and masked crimes.
Nottingham city centre is set to become the first UK city to enforce a ban on face coverings, as the new rules come into place on Tuesday, September 15.
From this date onwards, the police will be able to ask people to remove their face coverings if they “reasonably believe” it is being used to conceal their identity to commit a crime or antisocial behaviour.
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It is also up to the police to decide whether or not the coverings are being worn “legitimately”.
Following a consultation on the issue, which saw more than 90 per cent of the 2,200 respondents support the measure, the council believed the ban would help residents feel safer.
Nigel Farage has previously backed the ban on face coverings, describing them as “a menace”, and had expressed his support in The Telegraph.
He noted that it was not a matter of targeting one group, rather, it was “about saying that in a civilised society, people should be identifiable in public”.
Andy Burnham’s new migrant plan could see 42 UK areas ‘forced to take them’ – full list
Prime Minister Andy Burnham argued that wealthier communities should “play their part”.
UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham (Image: Getty)
More than 40 Labour-held seats face pressure to host extra asylum seekers under Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s preference for fairer distribution, an investigation has showed. The analysis identifies 42 Labour seats that rank above Bicester and Woodstock — the constituency covering the village of Piddington — on both median house prices of £390,000 and median weekly wages of £862.
Mr Burnham has faced local anger over plans to house 1,250 migrants at the MoD Bicester site near Piddington. In comments made last month, Mr Burnham argued that wealthier communities should “play their part,” saying: “We cannot have a situation where it’s only the poorest communities in the country that receive all of the dispersal of refugees and asylum seekers… I do believe all parts of the country need to work, to play their part.”
The investigation, conducted by GB News, ranked the seats and found that 25 fall under local authorities currently sitting below their regional averages for supported asylum accommodation. These include Altrincham and Sale West, Battersea, Beckenham and Penge, Bexleyheath and Crayford, Chelsea and Fulham, Cities of London and Westminster, Clapham and Brixton Hill, Earley and Woodley, Eltham and Chislehurst, Greenwich and Woolwich, Hammersmith and Chiswick, Hampstead and Highgate, Harrow West, Hertford and Stortford, Hitchin, Holborn and St Pancras, Islington South and Finsbury, Kensington and Bayswater, Lewisham North, Leyton and Wanstead, North East Hertfordshire, Putney, Tooting, Walthamstow and Watford.
The remaining 17 seats are covered by local authorities already above their regional averages. They include Bermondsey and Old Southwark, Bethnal Green and Stepney, Chipping Barnet, Dulwich and West Norwood, Ealing Central and Acton, Finchley and Golders Green, Hackney North and Stoke Newington, Hackney South and Shoreditch, Hornsey and Friern Barnet, Lewisham West and East Dulwich, Poplar and Limehouse, Reading West and Mid Berkshire, Stratford and Bow, Streatham and Croydon North, Uxbridge and South Ruislip, Vauxhall and Camberwell Green, and Welwyn Hatfield.
Across the 32 local authorities covering these 42 seats (plus 14 further constituencies), about 10,108 asylum seekers are in supported accommodation, according to recent Home Office data. The national total stood at 93,293 in June 2026.
GB News contacted all 42 Labour MPs; only Neil Coyle (Bermondsey and Old Southwark) replied. Mr Coyle stated his area had previously hosted one hostel and two hotels under the Conservatives and was “proud to do our part,” while noting Labour had closed the hotels as part of faster processing.
Some listed MPs, including Diane Abbott, Catherine West, Emily Thornberry, Andy Slaughter, Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Apsana Begum, have publicly supported greater provision for refugees.
Local resident Ian Darby in Piddington argued the 42 areas should take a population-based quota for fairness, while describing the proposed numbers for his village as disproportionate.
Mr Burnham has said he will listen to Piddington concerns. A consultation runs until September 17, with the Home Office having submitted an urgent planning application. The government continues efforts to end hotel use by 2029 while addressing what it sees as an uneven national distribution of asylum accommodation.
