Fury as BBC gives preacher of hate a platform

Last updated at 14:29 22 September 2006


The BBC caused fury today by giving the Muslim extremist who heckled John Reid a free platform to threaten civil disorder.

In an extraordinary broadcast, Abu Izzadeen was allowed to claim that Muslims were under attack from the police and ready to explode.

He was given free rein to rant for a rage-filled 12 minutes, in which he called Tony Blair a murderer and terrorist, said the Home Secretary was an enemy of Islam and called British forces anti-Islam crusaders.

• More: Government 'let down' 7/7 survivors

The self-styled community leader was invited onto the prime morning slot of Radio 4's flagship Today show to air his extremist views.

He insisted his was the authentic "Islam viewpoint" and claimed any moderates who disagreed with his terrifying calls were stooges with "a British Raj mentality".

Claiming civil unrest could break out in Muslim communities, he said: "You can only push people to a certain level until they explode." Mr Izzadeen was given the main 8.10am slot, usually reserved for the most important interview of the day. Presenter John Humphrys opened by saying: "The Home Secretary experienced a taste of Muslim anger this week."

Mr Izzadeen said: "I'm telling you we have had enough. We have had enough of the police raids... the shootings at Forest Gate... the arrests in Walthamstow and inside restaurants under the guise of a war against terror which everyone knows is a war against Muslims."

He told the Government to "wake up and smell the coffee".

"If they don't stop this there's going to be a very strong reaction from the Muslim community.

"We are not talking about a selfsuicide operation, but there is a tension within the community because they are being targeted."

The BBC was deluged with calls and emails from viewers. Also known as Omar Brooks, Mr Izzadeen hijacked a speech to Muslims by Mr Reid on Wednesday.

He said Mr Blair was "an enemy of Allah". "He is a murderer, he has blood on his hands."

The broadcast was seen as particularly insensitive because it was on the day of the official reports into the 7/7 London bombings. Mr Izzadeen repeatedly refused to condemn the terrorists.

Asked why he did not go to a country where his fundamentalist version of Islam was practised, the radical replied: "So, there's going to be mass deportations?"

Mr Izzadeen is said to be a former spokesman for the radical Islamic group al-Ghurabaa, an offshoot of al-Muhajiroun - both of which

are now banned in the UK. The BBC came under fire from MPs.

Shadow attorney general Dominic Grieve said the radical should not be treated as a mainstream Muslim spokesman. He said: "Abu Izzadeen is clearly a malevolent religious fanatic but he is certainly not representative of the Muslim Community in Britain."

Hendon MP Andrew Dismore said: "I wish the media wouldn't give people like this the oxygen of publicity. He's a very dangerous individual." The Labour MP added: "He's trying to win the title

of extremist of the year, which has been vacated while the other Muslim extremists are in prison."

A BBC spokesman denied the broadcast was a mistake. He said: "The Today programme interviews and challenges the views of people with a wide range of opinions."

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