James O'Brien had a fiery showdown with a caller on his LBC show on Tuesday during a debate over whether full-face veils are oppressive or empowering to women.
The pundit, who famously conducted an interview with Nigel Farage when the Ukip leader made controversial comments about having Romanian neighbours, disparaged Muslims who wore the Niqab, saying they had been groomed since birth to believe they were inferior to men.
He rubbished women who said they wore the face covering because "it's what God wants me to do," likening their religiously driven motive to George Bush’s justification for invading Iraq.
O'Brien quoted a reader comment to his caller, saying: "For every woman who's doing it out of a sense of religiosity there are a hundred out there who've been groomed since birth to believe that they are by nature inferior."
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He went on to attack the attribution of an act to the will of God.
"The conversation ends with anyone, whoever they are, whatever you're arguing about, when they say: 'It's what God wants me to do'."
"If I'm talking to George W. Bush about Gulf War Two and he says 'God wanted me to', I've got no-where else to go.
"You're talking to an otherwise intelligent and articulate young woman who's walking around like a Medieval misogynists' wet dream and she says it's what God wants me to do - the conversation's over again."
His female phone-in caller rebutted, saying the idea of God was "ambiguous", but O'Brien hit back asking: "So why can't you walk around with your face covered? There's nothing to stop you if you think it would be empowering."
Responding to the suggestion she could not because people would take offence, the radio host snapped back, saying: "Why don't you just put a little sign on the back saying 'I'm not a Muslim I'm just empowered'?"