"LOL" was the reply I got from my niqab-wearing best mate when I sent her the article that Boris Johnson wrote for this newspaper on Monday. I don’t like the veil, and like Boris I would never seek to ban it. But the growth of young women wearing it in the UK is concerning, and it’s something we all need to talk about.

My friend and I have had long debates about her choice to wear the veil. As much as she believes it is part of her faith, I feel that it is and was actually a reaction to an identity crisis at a difficult time in her life. After the death of her father she looked to her faith for comfort, and in a post-9/11 world that faith – which is also mine – had become a political one.

I remember first losing my friend to mosque classes and to sister circles and to fundamentalist YouTube videos. Before wearing the niqab, Hannah (not her real name) began by simply wearing the headscarf more. This was something which made her happy and I was supportive; it gave her peace in her hour of need. Faith, and a belief in something bigger, can be beautiful and powerful.