Move to ban US preacher

AN American Christian preacher who rose from obscurity to cause global uproar this year by threatening to burn the Koran says he plans to visit Britain to speak at an event hosted by a far-right anti-Islamist group.

Anti-extremist groups have urged the British government to ban entry to Florida Pastor Terry Jones, whose threat to burn Islam’s holy book on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks provoked widespread condemnation.

Britain’s Home Secretary Theresa May said yesterday she would be looking into the case. She has the power to deport or exclude a person deemed to threaten people’s safety, national security or public order.

On his website, Jones said he been invited to a rally held by the English Defence League in Luton in February. Jones, who heads a tiny church called the Dove World Outreach Centre, dropped his Koran-burning plan after it provoked outrage across the Muslim world and a warning from US President Barack Obama that the action would have helped al-Qaida.