Liberal Democrat Chris Davies says politicians were slow to take action to curb forced marriages within the Muslim community, but it was time now to speak out against a dress code that reduced women to subservience.

The burka envelopes its wearer leaving only their eyes visible. President Sarkozy of France this week attacked it as an assault upon the dignity of women.

Mr Davies says people should have the legal right to wear whatever they wish, but politeness should not prevent disapproval being expressed.

He said: "There is no mention in the Qur'an of the burka and it is a style of dress used principally in those countries where women are treated as mere chattels of men. I believe it does not belong in 21st Century Britain.

"I have a passionate belief that women and men are equals, and both sexes should be free to express their identity through the dress they wear. In my experience, the burka acts as a mask, reducing identity and discouraging women from developing their own skills and personality."

The MEP responded angrily to suggestions some young women feel coerced or forced into wearing the Burka against their own wishes. "If there are men who want to use the burka to impose their own will upon women in their family they should feel the full force of society's disapproval," he said.