Extremists behind anti-war protest driven off the streets by moderate Muslims

Muslim extremists behind a protest against soldiers on a homecoming parade have been driven off the streets today by members of their own community.

Fights broke out and traffic ground to a halt when moderate Muslims confronted a group of about 12 men who regularly preach from a stall in Bury Park - the heart of Luton's Muslim community.

After Friday prayers, more than 200 members of local mosques turned on the group who sparked outrage in March when they disrupted a parade by the Royal Anglian Regiment through the town centre. They shouted 'baby killers' and 'butchers of Basra' at the returning soldiers as well as brandishing placards against the Iraq war.

But today the extremists were surrounded by a crowd as they began to set up their stall, shouting 'We don't want you here' and 'move on, move on'.

Angry words were exchanged and scuffles broke out between members of both groups, with the extremists shouting 'Shame on you' and 'Get back to your synagogue'. One police officer and two community support officers struggled to hold them apart until more officers arrived.

Buses and cars were unable to move as the crowd spilled into the road.

Farasat Latif, of the Islamic Centre in Luton, which was firebombed after the protest against the soldiers, said moderate members of his community took action because police had failed to move the group on. He said the extremists, who follow the militant group led by Sheikh Omar Bakri Muhammed, had fuelled feelings against the Muslim community which led to a march last Sunday in Luton which was disrupted by white, right-wing extremists.

Mr Latif said: 'We have been fighting these Muslim extremists for you. They represent nobody but themselves. The community decided to move them on because the police won't. We have asked them, but they did nothing. I don't know if they will be back. We have been the victims twice over - from the stupidity of Muslim extremists who metaphorically pour petrol and fan the flames of the right wing extremists.

'This was a peaceful demonstration and we hope they get the message that the law-abiding community is sick and tired of them.'

No one was arrested during the incident.

A spokeswoman for Bedfordshire Police said: 'We attended the incident, calmed people down and moved them on. No one was arrested and there were no injuries.'

Daily Mail

Police and British Legion probe 'appalling' BNP leaflet

A POLICE probe has been launched into a leaflet posted to homes across Burnley and Pendle which blames Muslims for the heroin trade in Britain.

A British National Party councillor from Pendle and a former Burnley BNP election candidate are named in the leaflet as endorsing the views.

Councillors have called for Coun Brian Norton Parker, a BNP councillor for the Marsden ward in Nelson, to quit.

But both he and John Rowe, a former BNP candidate for Rosegrove with Lowerhouse in Burnley, have spoken out in support of the leaflet.

Colleagues on Pendle Council are now considering reporting Coun Parker to their watchdog, the Standards Board, on suspicion of bringing the authority into disrepute.

Police have confirmed that an investigation has been launched into the leaflets - of which hundreds were delivered to homes - after a number of complaints were lodged with Lancashire Constabulary.

The question of whether the leaflets amount to incitement to religious hatred is now being considered by Crown Prosecution Service lawyers.

Another inquiry looks set to be launched by the Royal British Legion, as the leaflets claim to be a 'Preston Pals' publication.

The Pals represent a Lancashire regiment,the 5th Battalion, which endured heavy casualties in the First World War.

Coun George Adams, chairman of the legion's Nelson and district branch, said he was furious that the organisation's name has been linked to the "racist" flyer.

The Walvderden councillor told a meeting of Pendle Council's Nelson committee: "I am asking if Coun Brian Norton Parker will distance himself from the leaflet as his name is on it."

Insp Russ Procter, of Lancashire Police, who was also in attendance at the meeting, said: "This leaflet has been distributed around Burnley, Pendle and Preston.

"I am also aware that this leaflet has been distributed in the Brentwood Road area and we have had a number of calls about it and we have passed this on to our hate crime unit.

"There is now a file which has been submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service.

"There are a number of residents who have been concerned."

Coun David Foster, Nelson committee chairman, added: "I think it is absolutely appalling that that sort of leaflet is being put out."

But Coun Parker declined to dissociate himself from the leaflet or its contents.

Coun Parker said: "I have been asked to apologise for it but I think that the heroin trade has to be highlighted because it causes so many deaths.

"One person dies every day in Scotland, I have read, because of heroin.

"This is a campaign by my colleague Tony Bamber which I support if it highlights the number of deaths from heroin."

Speaking after the meeting, Mr Rowe, of Cowper Street, Burnley, said: "I do not think that this (leaflet) is unreasonable."

A note on the leaflet says it had been produced by a Tony Bamber of Preston.

Burnley and Pendle Citizen


Police probe into BNP heroin leaflet

A British National Party member could face police investigations after he distributed hundreds of leaflets across Preston which blame Muslims for the heroin trade in Britain.

Tony Bamber, who stood in local elections for the BNP in Tulketh ward in 2006, denied being solely responsible for the distribution of the leaflets but admitted he was involved.

Mr Bamber, 52, said: "The leaflets are not making a comment about the Islamic religion, they are making a statement about the activities of Muslims.

"The leaflets were made by Preston Pals, a group of concerned indigenous people in the city."

The question of whether the leaflets amount to incitement to religious hatred is now being considered by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Detective Sergeant Graham Gallagher, head of the Hate Crime Diversity unit at the Lancashire Constabulary, said: "This leaflet has been distributed around Preston, Burnley, and Pendle.

"We received a number of complaints after the leaflet was distributed to a number of addresses and we have now submitted a file to the Crown Prosecution Service to see if we have sufficient evidence to progress with our inquiry."

Another inquiry looks set to be launched by the Royal British Legion, as the leaflets claim to be a Preston Pals' publication.

The Pals represent a Lancashire regiment - the 5th Battalion - which endured heavy casualties in the First World War.

Mr Bamber, whose name appears on the leaflet, said he would continue distributing them.

Preston and Leyland Citizen