The country’s first Muslim Miss England has accused Tony Blair of fuelling hostility towards Islam in the wake of the London bombings. Hammasa Kohistani, 19, said the attacks of July 7 last year had in some ways brought communities together, as people from many different backgrounds were killed. But statements from the Government in the year since the bombings had created “negative stereotypes” of Muslims, she said.

Press Association, 31 August 2006