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Charles Clarke scraps plans to close mosques accused
of fomenting extremism
The government has today scrapped its plans to
close mosques found to be fostering religious
extremism.
The decision comes after consultations revealed
strong opposition to the plans from police and
religious leaders, both Muslim and non- Muslim.
They urged better joint working and information
sharing as the best way to tackle extremism, not
more police powers.
Tony Blair first outlined the proposals in August
as part of a 12- point plan designed to tackle
terrorism in the wake of the London bombings on
July 7th.
Many of the measures outlined by the prime minister
have already been implemented, such as the strengthening
of powers to deport people suspected of terrorism
and excluding foreign extremists, while new anti-terrorism
laws have also been put before parliament.
Home secretary Charles Clarke today said these
measures represented a "significant package
of action" and as such, given the opposition
to the move, said he would no longer be introducing
new powers to close down places of worship into
legislation.
"I have been encouraged by the very significant
commitment from communities to work with the police
to deal with misuse of places of worship,"
he said.
"Alongside other work that the government
and community groups are taking forward, this
represents a significant package of action to
address the issue of extremism.
"Consequently, the government has decided
not to introduce a new power in the legislation
currently going before parliament. However, we
will keep the situation under close review."
In his response to the consultation, head of the
Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) Iqbal Sacranie
said the proposals could lead to "instability
and anger" in the Muslim community and said
they would be "totally counterproductive
to our united front against terrorism".
The Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo)
also expressed its concern, saying the justification
for the new powers was "weak and existing
powers are sufficient". It warned the identification
of faith, especially Islam, with terrorism was
"unhelpful".
Opposition was not just limited to Muslim groups,
however – the Sikh Federation (UK) said the plans
were "offensive", while the Catholic
Bishops' Conference of England and Wales said
they could "unduly curtail genuine civil
liberties and so be counterproductive".
Mr Clarke today also confirmed there would be
no public inquiry into the events of July 7th,
saying the government "does not believe that
such an inquiry would add to our understanding
of the cause of the atrocities".
He added: "Additionally, to establish one
would be to divert the attention of our police
and security services during an extended period
of time when they are still actively engaged in
both the murder investigation which continues
and the detection and prevention of further atrocities."
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