UK: Police play dress-up

Two female British police officers have dressed in full-body Muslim veils as part of a daylong community relations exercise, drawing ridicule from critics.

British media reported that three officers in Sheffield dressed in conservative Islamic garb and wandered around the city's centre accompanied by a group of Muslim women.

The UK Taxpayers' Alliance called the exercise an "absurd diversion".

The Centre for Social Cohesion, a London-based think tank which studies extremism and community relations, said solving crimes would have been a better use of police time.