19/07/2005

PM meets with senior Muslim leaders

Prime Minister Tony Blair has met with a group of senior Muslim leaders to discuss the issue of terrorism, in the aftermath of the London bombings.

Twenty-five senior Muslim leaders, as well as opposition leaders, attended the meeting in Downing Street, which formed part of a series of debates aimed at reaching the widest possible consensus on how to tackle the causes of terrorism.

Attending the event were Sir Iqbal Sacranie from the Muslim Council of Britain, Sarah Joseph Sadiq Khan, MP, and Zaki Badawi, of Muslim College, as well as various clerics, lawmakers and business leaders from the UK’s Muslim community

Speaking after the meeting, Blair described the outcome of the discussions as ‘heartening’ and that ‘a degree of unity’ had been achieved across both community and political divides.

Conservative leader Michael Howard added: "We must do much more than we have done so far to make everyone in this great national community of ours proud of being British."

(CL/SP)

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