THE row over the role of the face veil in British society showed no signs of cooling today - despite a verdict in the tribunal claim.
Teaching assistant Aishah Azmi lost her claims against Kirklees Council for refusing to take off her veil while in class, but said she is considering an appeal.
Although the employment tribunal dismissed three of Mrs Azmi's claims, it found she was victimised by the school and awarded her £1,000 for injury to feelings.
Now Tory leader David Cameron has joined the fray, saying he was concerned that the Muslim community was feeling "slightly targeted" by the continuing debate.
He expressed "great sympathy" with the Headfield Church of England Junior School in Thornhill which suspended the Muslim teaching assistant for refusing to remove her veil.
Mr Cameron's comments follow news that three claims of discrimination and harassment by Mrs Azmi, 24, were dismissed by an employment tribunal yesterday.
The hearing heard she was suspended from Headfield School after she refused to remove her veil while teaching.
Mr Cameron said that in such cases the local authority should be allowed to make their own judgement.
"I am not sure we can have some national veils policy," he said. "Looking at the case, I have great sympathy with the school because it seems to me there isn't a teaching in Islam which says you have to wear the veil in front of children and in terms of teaching, communication is vitally important so that's where my sympathies lie."
After yesterday's tribunal decision, Mrs Azmi criticised Mr Blair and Cabinet Ministers who had intervened in the row.
She said she was "fearful of the consequences for Muslim women in this country who want to work" but urged Muslims to engage in dialogue with the wider community.
She said: "Muslim women who wear the veil are not aliens".
Although the employment tribunal dismissed three of Mrs Azmi's claims, it found she was victimised by the school and awarded her £1,000 for injury to feelings.
The school had said face-to-face communication was essential for Mrs Azmi's job as a bilingual support worker.
Mrs Azmi, of Thornhill Lees, Dewsbury, remains suspended on full pay from the school.
She said she was willing to remove her veil in front of children - but not when male colleagues were present.
Dewsbury Labour MP Shahid Malik said the tribunal ruling was "quite clearly a victory for common sense" and urged all parties to try and reach a solution.
Clr Robert Light, Kirklees Council leader, said the tribunal decision vindicated the authority's decision to take action.
Clr Jim Dodds, Kirklees Council's cabinet member for children's services, said: "As an employer Kirklees Council actively promotes and encourages equality and diversity and respects the wishes of employees to express their religious and cultural beliefs.
"Mrs Azmi is employed as a bilingual support worker which is a crucial role in a school where English is spoken as a second language by a large proportion of pupils.
"In this case the school and local authority had to balance the rights of the children to receive the best quality education possible and Mrs Azmi's desire to express her cultural beliefs.
"The decision that Mrs Azmi should not wear a veil whilst communicating with children in class was taken after a monitoring period where the impact of wearing the veil on the teaching and learning was studied."
