The Spanish city of Lleida has barred women from wearing face-covering Islamic veils inside its municipal buildings.

The move makes the northern city - population 135,000 - the first in the country to regulate the garments that have triggered debate across Europe.

Lleida's town hall passed the ban today with 23 votes in favour, one against and two abstentions.

The gesture is largely symbolic, because only about 3% of the population is Muslim and only a handful of Muslim women in Lleida actually wear body-covering burqas or face-covering niqab garments.

The council said the veils were degrading to women.

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