A GOVERNMENT minister has called for the Dewsbury teaching assistant suspended for wearing a veil to be sacked.

Aishah Azmi, 24, a Muslim, has been suspended from Headfield C of E School in Thornhill Lees because she refuses to remove her veil in front of male colleagues.

The move followed complaints that pupils found her difficult to understand because they could not see her lips move.

Meanwhile, minister Phil Woolas, whose brief includes community cohesion, says Ms Azmi could be breaking sex discrimination rules.

He added: "She should be sacked. She has put herself in a position where she can't do her job. She cannot teach a classroom of children wearing a veil. You cannot have a teacher who wears a veil simply because there are men in the room."

A tribunal has already heard claims from Ms Azmi and from Kirklees Council officials.