LONDON, 6 December 2004 — Britain’s government is “creating a climate of fear” to justify its policies over Iraq and fighting terrorism, a top Muslim leader said yesterday.
“I think there is a lot of suspicion, not only among Muslims but among the population at large, that all this is creating a climate of fear,” Assam Tamimi, president of the Muslim Association of Britain told the independent GMTV channel.
“The war on Iraq and the alleged war on terrorism have been wars on the Muslim community,” Tamimi insisted.
“When you arrest Muslims early in the morning in their hundreds and end up releasing them without charge you are creating an atmosphere of horror and fear.”
A poll last week revealed that Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Labour Party have dramatically lost the support of British Muslims, who have switched allegiance to the opposition Liberal Democrats, the nation’s third main party.
Eighty percent of the country’s Muslims reject Blair’s claims that the war on terror was not against Islam, up from 68 percent in March, according to an ICM poll carried out for the Guardian newspaper and published on Nov. 29.
Labour was once seen as the natural home of ethnic minority voters, with an estimated 75 percent of Muslims who voted at the last election thought to have backed Blair, the ICM poll said.
However, Labour has dropped six points to 32 percent since March, while the main opposition Conservative Party has dropped nine points to 16 percent. The Liberal Democrats are up five on 41 percent.
Some 1.6 to two million of Britain’s population of 60 million are Muslims.
Meanwhile, opposition politicians stepped up the pressure on Home Secretary David Blunkett yesterday over accusations he abused his position by speeding up a visa for his ex-lover’s nanny.
Conservative home affairs spokesman David Davis said Blunkett should resign if the claims turned out to be true.
The affair threatens to embarrass Blair five months before an expected election as he had promised his government would be “purer than pure” when he took power in 1997.
The most damaging of several allegations linked to Blunkett’s affair with married American Kimberly Quinn, is that he fast-tracked a visa application for her Filipina nanny.
“If he took the papers in, and if that led to influence ... that I’m afraid, is a very unwise thing for him to do and I actually do think this is a resigning issue,” Davis told BBC’s Breakfast with Frost.
Blunkett, one of the government’s most high profile ministers and among Blair’s most trusted allies, denies the accusations and last week ordered an inquiry into the issue. The government says Sir Alan Budd will report as soon as possible.
A Sunday Express poll showed 71 percent of voters think Blunkett should wait to hear the result of the inquiry. Only 20 percent thought he should resign now.
Conservative Theresa May also said Blunkett should consider his position.
“This is the whole question of the use or misuse of public resources by David Blunkett,” she told Sky television.
Blair has backed Blunkett and says a clear distinction should be drawn between politicians’ public and private lives.
Opponents say any abuse of office would be a resigning matter.
