Cameron speech delights far right

The British Prime Minister, David Cameron, was accused of playing into the hands of right-wing extremists as he delivered a controversial speech on the failings of multiculturalism just hours before one of the biggest anti-Islam rallies ever staged in Britain.

Muslim and anti-fascist groups questioned the Prime Minister's judgment and sensitivity to the issues, saying he had handed a propaganda coup to the hard-right English Defence League as 3000 of its supporters marched through the town of Luton, near London, chanting anti-Islamic slogans.

Some of crowd were jubilant, saying that Cameron "had come round to our way of thinking". Paul Bradburn, 35, from Stockport, said Cameron was "coming out against extremism".

He added: "The timing of his speech is quite weird as it comes on the day of one of the biggest EDL demos we've ever seen. If he wants to start sticking up for us, that's great."

Matt, 16, a school pupil in Birmingham who was at the march said: "He believes what we believe to some extent."

A Downing Street spokeswoman said the speech had been "in the diary for months". She added: "The idea that he would be blown off course on an issue as fundamental as this by the English Defence League is ridiculous and extraordinary."

Cameron told the Munich Security Conference that state multiculturalism had failed in Britain and pledged to cut funding for Muslim groups that failed to respect basic British values.

He blamed the radicalisation of Muslim youths and the phenomenon of home-grown terrorism on the sense of alienation that builds among young people living in separate communities and the "hands-off tolerance" of groups that peddle separatist ideology.

There was some support for his comments. The counter-extremism think-tank the Quilliam Foundation said the speech was "very balanced". Liberty, the civil liberties and human rights group, supported "every fundamental right and freedom set out in his speech".

But just a few hours later, EDL leader Stephen Lennon told the crowd they were part of a "tidal wave of patriotism" that was sweeping Britain.

Activists, some wearing balaclavas and others waving English flags, chanted "Muslim bombers off our streets" and "Allah, Allah, who the f*** is Allah". EDL supporters from Newcastle, Scotland, London, West Yorkshire and Sheffield joined Luton-based supporters. There were also flags representing German, Dutch and Swedish Defence Leagues.

Nick Griffin, the leader of the British National Party, applauded the speech. He said: "In rhetorical terms, I think it is a sign of the steady Griffinisation of British politics. We've had things that only I and the BNP have been saying for years. It's our message and our rhetoric which was demonised as beyond the pale and now it is mainstream."

Nick Lowles, director of anti-extremist group Hope Not Hate, said the timing of Cameron's remarks had allowed EDL members to claim the Government was on its side.

"The Prime Minister's comments were unhelpful. On a day when extremist groups of varying persuasions were descending on Luton, his words were open to misinterpretation at best, and at worst were potentially inflammatory. Whatever the intention, the timing of this speech has played into the hands of those who wish to sow seeds of division and hatred."

Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadhan Foundation, said Cameron had handed a "propaganda coup to the EDL and their extremists".

Labour also weighed in, attacking the timing of the speech and rejecting implications that it had failed to address issues of Islamic extremism and multiculturalism over 13 years in office.

Former Home Secretary Jack Straw said it was "ill-timed" and "ill-judged". He said most British Muslims "want the same for their families as everyone else, and subscribe to the same values, including an abhorrence of terrorism".

In a critique of the "hands-off tolerance" of unacceptable practices by non-whites, the Prime Minister said the ideology which fuels terrorism had to be confronted head on. "At stake are not just lives, it's our way of life. Frankly, we need a lot less of the passive tolerance of recent years and much more active, muscular liberalism."

Cameron said that terrorism was not linked to "any one religion or ethnic group" and noted the threat still posed in Britain by dissident republicans and anarchist attacks in Greece and Italy. "We need to be clear: Islamist extremism and Islam are not the same thing." But he said multiculturalism had led to communities becoming isolated, which left young Muslim men feeling "rootless".

"Under the doctrine of state multiculturalism, we have encouraged different cultures to live separate lives, apart from each other and the mainstream. We have failed to provide a vision of society to which they feel they want to belong. We have even tolerated these segregated communities behaving in ways that run counter to our values."

- OBSERVER, INDEPENDENT