Boris Johnson blames the London bombings on the development of a multicultural society “in which too many Britons have absolutely no sense of allegiance to this country or its institutions. It is a cultural calamity that will take decades to reverse, and we must begin now with what I call the re-Britannification of Britain.

“That means insisting … on certain values that we identify as British. If that means the end of spouting hate in mosques, and treating women as second-class citizens, then so be it. We need to acculturate the second-generation Muslim communities to our way of life, and end the obvious alienation that they feel.

“That means the imams will have to change their tune, and it is no use the Muslim Council of Great Britain endlessly saying that ‘the problem is not Islam’, when it is blindingly obvious that in far too many mosques you can find sermons of hate, and literature glorifying 9/11 and vilifying Jews. We have reached a turning-point in the relations between the Muslim community and the rest of us, and it is time for the moderates to show real leadership.”

Daily Telegraph, 15 July 2005

“The foreign media are awash with references to ‘Londonistan’, describing how this country has become a safe haven for Islamic extremists – ‘a crossroads for terror’ according to the New York Times. They also voice incredulity that the malign impact of multiculturalism and political correctness has for years seen Britain segregated into inward-looking communities that eschew British values while the forces of law and order walk on eggshells, desperate not to offend.

“The Americans have a point. As extremist clerics preach a gospel of hate, we wring our hands but do nothing. Should we then be surprised when impressionable young men heed their words and act, with horrific results?

“Far from silencing the extremists, we welcome them. Tariq Ramadan, an Egyptian academic who has justified acts of terrorism is coming to this country – invited by the Metropolitan Police! It’s beyond parody. This is the same force whose Deputy Assistant Commissioner Brian Paddick said after the bombs: ‘As far as I’m concerned Islamic and terrorist are two words that do not go together.’…

“The author Irshad Manji wrote wisely this week that moderate Muslims must condemn terrorism, abandon the ‘myth’ that Islam has nothing to do with the atrocities, and reject Islamic infallibility.”

Editorial in the Daily Mail, 13 July 2005

Even more alarmingly, the country’s principal police force involved in counterterrorism is now under the control of an officer whose obsession with the “diversity” agenda is thought to be undermining the fight against terror.

The oppressive side of this philosophy surfaced recently when Sir Ian Blair, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, was rebuked by an employment tribunal for “hanging his own officers out to dry” to prove his anti-racist credentials.

This was after his force was found to have racially discriminated against three white officers who were disciplined after alleged racist remarks at a training day, in which one of them had referred to Muslim headgear as “tea cosies”, mispronounced Shi’ites as “shitties” and said he felt sorry for Muslims who fasted during Ramadan.

Yet following this institutional bullying over Islamophobia, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Brian Paddick yesterday made the astonishing comment: “As far as I am concerned Islam and terrorists are two words that do not go together.” So what, then, does he think Al Qaeda is?

While few would disagree that the Met has to be sensitive to the needs of ethnic minorities, Sir Ian’s obsession with attacking “Islamophobia” is now raising serious concerns among certain police officers and security sources.

It is getting in the way of the job the police are called upon to do. Officers who try to address the delicate issue of terrorism and its supporters within the Muslim community now find themselves in danger of being accused within their own force of Islamophobia.

Daily Mail, 8 July 2005