Police vow over revenge attacks

Police have vowed to crack down on any racist revenge crimes in the wake of the bomb attacks on London.
The Met's Deputy Assistant Commissioner Brian Paddick said there had been several apparent revenge attacks on ethnic groups in London since Thursday.

He said: "We need people from every community to report incidents to the police of any faith-hate crime and any other hate crime."

He said police would not allow hatred to be stirred up by the bombings.

"Londoners are not attacking each other. They are being united by this terrible tragedy and we need to make sure we all stick together," he said.

'Feeling vulnerable'

Mr Paddick was speaking after a meeting between senior police officers, politicians and more than 200 community representatives from around London on Monday.

"We know some people are feeling vulnerable and we want to reassure those people that we are there to protect them," he said.

Muslim leaders are writing to hundreds of mosques appealing for help in finding the London bombers.

Warning Muslim neighbourhoods could face a backlash, the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) said police were patrolling near places of worship.

There have been reports of attacks on mosques in London, the Midlands, Merseyside, Yorkshire and Bristol.

Church leaders pledged to stand by Muslim colleagues, saying terrorism affected all communities.

In the letter to mosques, Sir Iqbal Sacranie, head of the MCB, said unscrupulous elements of society, including in the media, were already using the London attacks as a means to undermine the position of Muslims in British society.

"There have already been several arson attacks and criminal damage reported on mosques in various parts of the country, including Leeds, Tower Hamlets [east London], Merton [south London] Telford and Birkenhead," he said.

"We have been in touch with the police and have been informed that the police service have put into effect patrols and consultations to reassure and protect all people of the country."

Home Secretary Charles Clarke met Sir Iqbal and other faith leaders after the blasts to devise a plan to protect Muslims or other minorities.

The MCB received approximately 30,000 hate e-mails immediately after the bombs, though it is thought most were from a small group of agitators.


On Monday afternoon Bristol police appealed for calm after two mosques in the city were targeted, one on Friday night and the second on Sunday.

Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams has already warned against the temptation to scapegoat Muslims for the attacks, widely believed to be the work of an al-Qaeda-inspired group.

The day after the bomb key faith figures from the East End of London, including Christians, Jews and Muslims, gathered near the Aldgate bomb site in a show of unity, a move repeated on Sunday by national leaders of the three faiths.