Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf resigns after row over new MP's call for burqa ban

The chair of the right-wing Reform UK Party resigned from his role on Thursday after suggesting it was "dumb" of the party's newest MP to ask the prime minister if he would ban the burqa.

Zia Yusuf, a party donor and millionaire businessman, said in a statement on X that he was resigning after less than a year at the job because he did not believe working to get a Reform government elected was a "good use" of his time.

"I've worked full time as a volunteer to take the party from 14 to 30%, quadrupled its membership and delivered historic electoral results.

"I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office," he added.

11 months ago I became Chairman of Reform. I’ve worked full time as a volunteer to take the party from 14 to 30%, quadrupled its membership and delivered historic electoral results.

I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and…

— Zia Yusuf (@ZiaYusufUK) June 5, 2025

Sarah Pochin, who recently won a by-election in the UK constituency of Runcorn and Helsby by just six votes, had asked Prime Minister Keir Starmer in parliament on Wednesday to outlaw the burqa, a garment which covers the face and body and is worn by some Muslim women.

"Given the prime minister's desire to strengthen strategic alignment with our European neighbours, will he, in the interests of public safety, follow the lead of France, Denmark, Belgium and others and ban the burqa?" she asked.

Her call was met with jeers from some MPs and Starmer refused to be drawn on the subject, instead attacking Pochin over her past association with the Conservative Party. 

Nigel Farage, the Reform Party leader, also commented later on GB News, saying, "I don't think face coverings in public places make sense, and we deserve a debate about this."

However, on Thursday, Yusuf distanced himself from Pochin's remarks, suggesting the question should not have been asked.

"Nothing to do with me. Had no idea about the question nor that it wasn’t policy. Busy with other stuff. I do think it’s dumb for a party to ask the PM if they would do something the party itself wouldn't do," he wrote on X.

There's no reliable data on exactly how many Muslim women wear the burqa in the UK, but estimates are incredibly low, with some suggesting it's less than one percent of the Muslim population.

In 2011, the French secret service reported that out of the country's 4.7m Muslims, only 367 women wore the burqa, representing less than .04 percent of the Muslim population, and less than .003 percent of the general population.

Following Yusuf's resignation, Farage said he was "genuinely sorry that Zia Yusuf has decided to stand down as Reform UK chairman".

"As I said just last week, he was a huge factor in our success on May 1 and is an enormously talented person. Politics can be a highly pressured and difficult game and Zia has clearly had enough. He is a loss to us and public life," he said.

Yusuf had clashed with one of the party's MPs, Rupert Lowe, earlier this year, which led to the parliamentarian's suspension amid allegations of threats.

At the time, Yusuf faced a torrent of racist and Islamophobic abuse, with far-right commentator Laurence Fox saying, "a Britain focused party cannot have a Mohammedan as the chair".