German politicians are embroiled in an ongoing row over whether schools should be allowed to distribute burkinis for pupils to wear during swimming lessons.

Franziska Giffey, the German minister of family affairs and a member of the centre-left Social Democrat party (SPD), said that children should be allowed to wear the garment – which covers the whole body, apart from the face, hands and feet – when they go swimming with their schools.

"The most important thing is the well-being of the children, and that means that all learn to swim," Ms Giffey said at an event on Sunday.

The full-body swimsuits could help integrate Muslim girls whose parents would otherwise take them out of the classes, she said, adding that it shouldn’t be "blown out of proportion” and made out to be “the downfall of the West”.

The issue has flared up in Germany in recent weeks, after Pestalozzi high school in Herne in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) said it had purchased 20 burkinis to hand out to pupils for free.

Julia Klöckner, Germany’s minister of agriculture and a member of Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic party (CDU), said in response at the time that she was "surprised" about the decision.