Britain to ban extremists group

An Islamist group that planned to march through an English town known for honouring dead British soldiers is to be banned by the British government under counter terrorism laws.

Alan Johnson, the home secretary, said on Tuesday that the new order would make it illegal to join Islam4UK, also known as al Muhajiroun.

“I have … laid an order which will proscribe Al Muhajiroun, Islam4UK, and a number of the other names the organisation goes by,” he said.

“Proscription is a tough but necessary power to tackle terrorism and is not a course we take lightly. We are clear that an organisation should not be able to circumvent proscription by simply changing its name.”

‘Dictatorship’

Anjem Choudary, Islam4UK’s leader, told the BBC the move was a “failure of the concept of democracy and freedom”.

“What the people will see is if you don’t agree with the government and you want to expose their foreign policy, then freedom quickly dissipates and turns into dictatorship,” he said.

Choudary provoked debate earlier this year by suggesting his group would march through Wootton Bassett, where soldiers’ bodies are honoured.

He said the group’s action would highlight Afghan civilian deaths at the hands of Nato-led forces.

But politicians described the proposed march as distasteful and many called for the group to be banned.

The order, which comes into effect on Thursday, will also ban the group under the names Call to Submission, Islam4UK, Islamic Path, and London School of Sharia, the Press Association reported.