David Cameron has backed rules that would allow public officials to ban women from wearing full face veils in certain venues where identity and personal recognition are important. “Proper and sensible,” says the prime minister regarding a proposal that would see Muslim women remove face veils in schools, courts and other institutional venues. While there are existing measures in place to identify veiled women at the border – such as having them go to a private room with a female official – the face covering did become an issue in a court case in 2013 when defendant Rebekah Dawson refused to remove her veil in order to give evidence in her case. The proposal comes at a time when the government is looking to combat Islamic extremism and recruitment by Islamic State. “I think in our country people should be free to wear what they like, within the limits of how they like, and all the rest of it,” Mr. Cameron said. The prime minister put the ban in perspective, saying: “What does matter is if, for instance, a school has a uniform policy, sensitively put in place and all the rest of it, and people want to flout that uniform policy, often