A man arrested at an anti-immigration rally for wearing a Burka, allegedly as a means to conceal his identity from police, arrived at court wearing the same garment to plead not guilty.
Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court heard Timothy Miller of Southampton, Hampshire plead not guilty on Wednesday to trying to conceal his identity by wearing a burka, a head-to-toe modesty garment typically worn by strict female observers of the Islamic Faith. Police had activated provisions in the Crime and Policing Act 2025 in Portsmouth on September 12th in anticipation of an anti-boat-migration protest, which allowed officers to ban face coverings in the area.
The law contains an exemption from the face-covering law for “a purpose relating to their health or that of others, religious observance, or their work”, and 76-year-old Miller said he was entitled to the exemption, and had explained as much to the police officers at the protest.
Miller, who was not represented by a lawyer and was defending himself, arrived at court again wearing a burka, and told the judge he had been learning about Islam out of intellectual curiosity and wanted to wear the female garment to gain “greater understanding”. The defendant was required to lift the veil to identify himself to the judge, but is reported to have demurred when asked to state whether Islam was his religion or not.
He told the court that “The issue quite simply is we should be all living under one law, of which I think everybody is under agreement”, and that he shouldn’t be compelled to reveal his faith in court because “nobody is asked this question when they come into the country”. Miller said “we are moving towards an Islamic society” and said, consequently, it is “beneficial to me to have a full understanding and belief, that’s what I am doing. I think we are going down a very dangerous path questioning people about their religion, I think at the moment Jews are under the same pressure.”
The defendant said he had not been asked to remove the garment at the protest by police, and that he had “presented” himself to police cameras and drones, and so consequently had not attempted to hide his identity.
The BBC reports Miller said although he had no legal representation on this date, he was crowdfunding to afford a lawyer later. The judge adjourned the case until February.