Chelsea legend and former England captain John Terry has appeared to join calls to ban the burqa in the UK.
Terry’s apparent views were displayed on an Instagram post by Rupert Lowe, the former Reform UK MP who recently launched another political party called Restore Britain.
Lowe, who was once Southampton chairman, shared a post on Instagram of a London Underground station that had Bengali signage on the outside.
He said: ‘This picture was taken in London. Restore Britain would ban the burqa, and Restore Britain would ensure that all London stations use English, and English only. Enough is enough.
‘Vote Restore Britain to get our capital city back.’
A burqa is the clothing that some Muslim women wear to cover their body apart from a small gap around their eyes. Other European countries such as France have previously banned it in public.
Former England captain John Terry has appeared to join calls to ban the burqa in the UK
Terry commented on a social media post from MP Rupert Lowe calling for the policy
Lowe was previously a Reform UK MP, but recently launched a party called Restore Britain
Terry commented on Lowe’s post as he replied with three clapping emojis and an England flag.
This caused a stir as the former defender faced a backlash, but Lowe shared another post leaping to the defence of Terry.
He posted the same picture and added: ‘I see that England/Chelsea legend John Terry is taking some flak for applauding Restore Britain’s policy of banning the burqa and ensuring that all London stations use English, and English only.
‘This is the position the vast majority of the British people support.
‘There is now a political party that will say exactly what people think and fight to make it happen. Restore Britain.
‘If we get called names? WHO CARES. It does not matter. We do not care, and nor should you. This isn’t 2015 anymore. These insults mean nothing.
‘More people need to show some courage and stand up for what the majority thinks.
‘Restore Britain is doing exactly that. We are going to get our country back.’
Lowe’s original post came earlier this month, with his specific defence of Terry being shared on Sunday morning.
The 68-year-old, who represents Great Yarmouth, was elected as a Reform UK MP in 2024 before he was later suspended and left the party following allegations of threatening behaviour towards a colleague and workplace bullying.
Lowe denied the claims, arguing he was the victim of a ‘witch hunt’ after criticising Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.
Lowe then leapt to the defence of Terry after the former England defender faced a backlash
Meanwhile, Terry’s desire to show his patriotism was on display earlier this week when he was bizarrely seen skiing in France while holding a St George’s flag in his left hand.
He has also previously criticised the UK government over their ‘disgusting’ treatment of former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich.
Russian oligarch Abramovich, 59, owned the Blues from 2003 to 2022 and oversaw a trophy-laden period as the west London side became one of the biggest clubs in the world under his watch.
However, after the start of the war between Russia and Ukraine in February 2022, he sold Chelsea amid links to Russian president Vladimir Putin. He was similarly sanctioned by the UK government and disqualified as a director of the club by the Premier League.
A sale was eventually completed in May 2022 to the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital consortium, with the £2.5billion proceeds placed into a frozen UK bank account in order to be donated to charities supporting victims of the war in Ukraine, although these funds are yet to be released.
Abramovich has subsequently stayed off the radar and largely withdrawn from public life.
And, speaking back in October, Terry had said: ‘I think it’s disgusting what’s happened to him.
‘What he did in lockdown and what he did for the NHS was sensational, opening up Stamford Bridge to all the nurses and giving people homes during that difficult time.
‘He was just a lovely, lovely man who loved our football club and thankfully turned away from one other football club (Tottenham) and made the right decision to come to us.’
