Angela Merkel calls for a BURKA BAN: German leader says 'the full veil is not appropriate here' in astonishing U-turn

Angela Merkel has called for a burka ban after saying the 'full veil is not appropriate' in Germany.

In an astonishing U-turn, the German chancellor told her conservative CDU party conference that wearing the burka should be outlawed 'wherever that is legally possible'.

It comes after the 62-year-old stressed her determination to ensure there is no repeat of last year's huge migrant influx as she seeks a fourth term as chancellor.

Angela Merkel has called forr a burka ban after saying the 'full veil is not appropriate' in Germany

In an astonishing U-turn, the German chancellor told her conservative CDU party conference that wearing the burka should be outlawed 'wherever that is legally possible' (file picture)

Merkel said she would back a nationwide ban just months after revealing that she believed the burka was a barrier to Muslim women becoming integrated into German society.

She told Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland in August: 'From my point of view, a completely covered woman has almost no chance of integrating herself in Germany.'

Previously, Merkel has stopped short of calling for a ban on Islamic clothing, saying: 'This is a question of finding the right political and legal balance.'

Her new, tougher stance comes a week after Dutch MPs voted overwhelmingly to ban the Islamic full-face veil from some public places such as schools and hospitals, the latest such move in a European country.

The legislation must now go before the Senate for approval before becoming law. It follows similar bans imposed in France and Belgium, and comes amid rising tensions in Europe with Islamic communities.

Merkel came out fighting on the first day of her conservative party congress pledging to ban the burka and bring the refugee crisis under control.

A 77 minute speech interrupted by minutes of standing ovations proved the most powerful woman on the continent still has what it takes to rally the faithful.

She pledged to strengthen the forces of law and order while speeding up the sclerotic deportation process of failed asylum seekers.

The 62-year-old (pictured today) stressed her determination to ensure there is no repeat of last year's huge migrant influx as she seeks a new term in charge of her conservative party

'Not all the 890,000 refugees who came last year can or will stay,' she said at the start of her speech designed to claw back ground lost in recent months to the anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

But the pastor's daughter who was raised in communist East Germany pledged that every asylum application would be judged on its merits and that people would not be lumped into an 'anonymous mass.'

She said that a refugee situation of the kind Germany had endured in the summer of last year 'can and should not be repeated.'

And she pledged that the law of the land stood above 'any honour codes or Sharia.'

Mrs Merkel's critical speech came as tensions continue to rise following the brutal rape and murder of a 19-year-old medical student by an Afghan refugee.

She criticised the groundswell of Internet hate against migrants. She said that she often had the opinion that those who wrote them needed an 'integration course' more than the newcomers.

She said the tasteless online attacks shocked and sickened her. 'So say I, so say we; this must not be.'

She said she recognized that the general election of next year was like 'none other' and that it would not be 'like swallowing a sugar drop.'

She pledged a stronger Europe, a stronger economic base for Germany and a stronger commitment to achieving peace in Syria. At the end of it she was rewarded with a standing ovation of over 11 minutes.