A 76-year-old man turned up in court wearing a burka to defend himself from hiding his face at a far-right protest.
Timothy Miller also carried a black handbag into the dock to deny a charge of wearing the Islamic religious garment to conceal his identity during a protest on September 12.
Miller, of Sherwood Avenue, Hedge End, Southampton, Hampshire, attended Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court following his arrest in relation to the anti-migrant demonstration in Portsmouth on September 12.
After entering the dock, District Judge Stephen Apted asked the defendant: ‘Can you remove your face covering so we can identify you please?’
Miller then lifted the veil of the burka while holding a black handbag as he confirmed his name, date of birth and address.
When asked how he pleaded to the charge of using the burka to conceal his identity within a designated area under section 158 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026, Miller replied: ‘As I am in every police camera, I am not guilty.’
Miller was then asked what his legal defence to the charge was, he replied: ‘The issue quite simply is we should be all living under one law of which I think everybody is under agreement.’
He said that he had an ‘exemption’ for ‘Islamic’ religious observance and added ‘which I am entitled to, therefore it was an exemption for which I told the police’.
When asked to clarify that the religion was ‘Islam’, Miller responded: ‘I do not feel I should answer this question because nobody is asked this question when they come into the country.’
Mr Apted went on to ask Miller to clarify that he observed Islam as a religion, the defendant replied: ‘As such, I am studying Islam as it seems to be the most beneficial religion to be noticed in this climate today.’
He said that he continued to wear the burka to get a ‘greater understanding from this side of the veil’ and added: ‘It’s part of my inquiring mind of changing from one religion to another’.
Miller told the court that he had lived in Morocco and travelled to Bahrain and Dubai, and added: ‘What I say is happening here is the movement generally by law and everything that we are moving towards an Islamic society, therefore it is more 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.’
Miller said that he felt his arrest was not lawful ‘because I complied with everything, I was in every single camera including the drones overhead, I presented myself to the cameras.
‘I was never once asked to remove my face covering.’
Mr Apted adjourned the case for a trial to be held at the same court on February 16.
Miller told the court that he was unrepresented at this hearing but was crowdfunding to pay for legal representatives.
Mr Apted said that Miller’s defence representatives must produce a report confirming the defendant’s case that ‘a male person who is considering moving to Islam can wear a burka in public in order to better understand the religion and enable that person to make an informed decision about observing that religion’.
He released Miller on unconditional bail until the trial.