Straw said he makes sure he has a female member of staff with him when he asks women to lift their veils, and that he couldn't recall an occasion when a woman refused his request in the past year, since he started making the request.

"The value of a meeting, as opposed to a letter or phone call, is so that you can -almost literally - see what the other person means and not just hear what they say," he wrote. "So many of the judgments we all make about other people come from seeing their faces."

He said he defended "absolutely" the rights of women to wear a headscarf if they chose, but that he was concerned about the potential impact on relations in the greater community of the increasing number of British Muslim women wearing the veil.

'Outrageous': Islamic group

Several Muslim groups condemned the column.

Massoud Shadjareh, leader of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, described the comments as "outrageous" and asked whether Straw would make a similar request of Orthodox Jews.

"We're really astonished that someone so senior and responsible as Mr. Straw would make such a statement," said Shadjareh.

"I'm sure many people go [to his office] with many different types of clothing and fashions. Why does he suddenly have a problem with this?"

Dr. Daud Abdullah, of the Muslim Council of Britain, was more sympathetic to Straw.

"The veil does cause some discomfort to non-Muslims. One can understand this," he said.

"There are those who believe it is obligatory for the Muslim woman to cover her face," he added. "Others say she is not obliged to cover up. It's up to the woman to make the choice."

Straw has traditionally enjoyed the support of a majority of Muslims in Lancashire.

He was replaced as foreign secretary by Margaret Beckett in May in a Cabinet shuffle.

"This debate is about much more than a person, a programme or a lie. It is about whether we allow the parliamentary minority to launch an attack against constitutional order," Gyurcsany said.

"I call on parliament not to give in to threats and street blackmail organised by the opposition," he said in a speech ahead of a confidence vote in parliament.