Extremist Muslim clerics to be barred from Britain under anti-terror law

LONDON, Friday (AFP) Islamic extremists barred by the United States and other countries will be barred from entering Britain under new anti-terrorist provisions, a newspaper reported Friday. Britain's interior minister Charles Clarke has instigated a review of his powers to exclude and deport people likely to incite terrorism, the Daily Telegraph said.

It added that radicals like Yussef al-Qaradawi, an Egyptian-born cleric who has visited Britain from his home in Qatar and who has backed suicide bombers in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, could be stopped from entering Britain.

The new powers are particularly aimed at Islamic clerics who have encouraged disaffected young British Muslims to become radicalized and potential suicide bombers, it said.

Anyone attempting to enter Britain who has been previously excluded from the United States or the European Union will have his or her case immediately referred to Home Secretary Clarke for a decision. Prime Minister Tony Blair's office made clear that exclusion would be automatic if it were considered that admission "would not be conducive to the public good," the newspaper said.

The Cabinet authorized a redoubling of diplomatic efforts to reach agreement with a number of North African countries so that Britain could send troublemakers back to their countries of origin, it added.

Britain cannot currently deport anyone to a country where he or she may be subject to inhuman or degrading treatment and attempts to send them back have been blocked by the courts.

However, ministers believe that judges may be more ready to approve deportation orders if agreement can be reached that deportees will not be tortured or imprisoned when they are sent back, the newspaper said.

Speaking to parliament Wednesday, Blair proposed measures including tighter entry and deportation procedures to combat what he branded an "evil ideology" embraced by the bombers.