Blair vows to deport radical Muslims who incite hatred

BRITISH Prime Minister Tony Blair yesterday pledged urgent action to exclude and deport radical Muslim clerics who go to Britain to incite religious hatred.

The prime minister spoke of the “profound sense of shock and anxiety” across the country following the disclosure that at least three of the terrorists who carried out the suicide attacks were Muslims born and bred in Britain.

In a hushed Commons chamber, he condemned the “twisted teachings” and “evil ideology” which lay behind the outrages and promised action both at home and abroad to tackle the terrorist threat.

He said that there would cross-party talks with Muslim leaders, starting next week, on how they could combat the threat from within their community.

Ministers have said they intend to publish a draft bill this autumn before tabling legislation in the spring.

Talks were being held with Muslim nations such as Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Indonesia, as well as non-Muslim countries on how they could better co-ordinate their efforts in the future.

Mr Blair said that they now needed to “pull up this evil ideology by its roots” through concerted international action.

“There will be a profound sense of shock and anxiety in the country at what has happened,” he told MPs at Prime Minister’s Questions.

“This is not an isolated criminal act we are dealing with. It is an extreme and evil ideology whose roots lie in a perverted and poisonous misinterpretation of the religion of Islam.”

At the same time, he said that it was essential that the attacks should not divide communities in Britain.

“I would ask for the same measured and calm response from the country that has characterised it since last Thursday,” Mr Blair said yesterday.

Tory leader Michael Howard also expressed his dismay at the disclosure that the bombers were British, while joining Mr Blair in condemning and backlash against Muslims.

“Anyone who reaches out for a stone to throw at the window of a mosque, anyone who nurtures resentment against our Muslim community, is the enemy of all of us, because they would be acting the way terrorists want us to act.”

Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy said: “It is incumbent upon all of us to keep stressing the fact that the vast majority of British Muslims totally condemn the bombings.”

Labour’s Shahid Malik, the MP for Dewsbury where one of the bombers had his home and one of four Muslim MPs to meet Mr Blair in No 10 to discuss the attacks, said they represented a “defining moment” for the country and for the Muslim community.

“Rather than divide us, these evil voices will serve to unite the British people in our resolve to deal with them.”

Downing Street said that the first meeting with Muslim leaders would be held on Tuesday, with both Mr Howard and Mr Kennedy taking part.