LONDON - The leader of the world's Anglicans yesterday waded into the debate over the Muslim veil, warning politicians not to interfere with people's right to wear visible symbols of their faith.

Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, said that to ban veils, turbans, crucifixes or other pieces of clothing would be "politically dangerous" and that the British government should not become a "licensing authority" for what people can wear.

The comments, published in The Times newspaper yesterday, come amid controversy sparked by Jack Straw, a former British foreign secretary, who said this month that the full-face Muslim veil, or niqab, was a barrier to communication.

Tony Blair, the Prime Minister, also gave his view on the matter, suggesting the veil was a visible "mark of separation" between communities at a time when politicians desire greater integration to combat extremist threats.

Since then, a Muslim teaching assistant lost a case against her suspension for refusing to remove her niqab in class and a Christian check-in worker for British Airways was told she could not wear a crucifix at work.

"The ideal of a society where no visible public signs of religion would be seen -- no crosses round necks, no sidelocks, turbans or veils -- is a politically dangerous one," Dr. Williams wrote. "It assumes that what comes first is the central political 'licensing authority,' which has all the resources it needs to create a workable public morality."

Moving toward a secular society in Christian Britain -- where the Queen is the head of the Church of England and religion still features in public institutions -- would be more radical than can be imagined, he added.

His comments come as Alan Johnson, the Education Secretary, dropped plans to force all new religious schools to accept up to 25% of their students from other faiths or to take children who have no religious beliefs. He abandoned the plan to legislate the matter on Thursday, claiming a law change was no longer necessary because a deal had been reached with the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England.