A judge has allowed a Muslim woman who refused to uncover her face to enter a plea without removing her full face veil after a female police officer identified her in private.

The woman from London, who is charged with witness intimidation, said she could not remove her niqab to reveal her face in front of men for religious reasons.

At a previous hearing at Blackfriars Crown Court in August, judge Peter Murphy did not allow the woman to enter a plea, as he said that without uncovering her face her identity could not be confirmed.

Yesterday, the same judge allowed her to enter her plea of not guilty without removing the niqab, after a female police officer identified her unveiled in a private room.

The same officer had photographed the defendant at the police station, and swore an oath to the court that it was the same woman.

The judge will rule on Monday whether the woman can stand trial wearing the veil.

The case is thought to be the first in which the issue of a defendant wearing a veil has arisen.