A 76-year-old man appeared in court wearing a burka to defend himself against a charge of hiding his face at a far-right protest. Timothy Miller, from Hedge End, Southampton, attended Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court after his arrest in connection with an anti-migrant demonstration in Portsmouth on September 12.
Entering the dock, Miller carried a black handbag. District Judge Stephen Apted asked him to remove his face covering for identification. Miller lifted the burka’s veil while holding the handbag, confirming his name, date of birth, and address.
Charge and defence
Miller pleaded not guilty to using the burka to conceal his identity within a designated area under section 158 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026. He stated: ‘As I am in every police camera, I am not guilty.’
When asked for his legal defence, he replied: ‘The issue quite simply is we should be all living under one law of which I think everybody is under agreement.’ He claimed an ‘exemption’ for ‘Islamic’ religious observance, adding ‘which I am entitled to, therefore it was an exemption for which I told the police’.
Religious observance questioned
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.’ He later said: ‘As such, I am studying Islam as it seems to be the most beneficial religion to be noticed in this climate today.’
Miller said he wore the burka to gain a ‘greater understanding from this side of the veil’ and described it as ‘part of my inquiring mind of changing from one religion to another’. He told the court he had lived in Morocco and travelled to Bahrain and Dubai, adding: ‘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.’
He also said: ‘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 argued 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’ and noted ‘I was never once asked to remove my face covering’.
Trial adjourned
Judge Apted adjourned the case for a trial at the same court on February 16. Miller told the court he was unrepresented but was crowdfunding for legal representation.
The judge said 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’. Miller was released on unconditional bail until the trial.
