THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: A British Muslim radical has been banned permanently from France as the country steps up security before the introduction of a nationwide burka ban on Monday.Anjem Choudary, head of the outlawed Islam4UK which advocates Sharia law, was turned back as he tried to join an illegal protest against the measure in Paris on Saturday.
He was served with a legal notice informing him that the French Interior Ministry was banning him permanently.
Abu Izzadeen and Omar Bakri, who are similarly controversial figures based in Britain, also tried to get to the event but were stopped by police.
France is on a high state of alert after al Qaeda issued warnings that it would attack the country following the introduction of the ban, which imposes fines of £130 to women caught wearing Islamic veils.
Men who force their wives or daughters to cover up illegally will face up to a year in prison, and fines of up to £25,000.
In October Jacques Myard, a senior member of President Nicolas Sarkozy's ruling UMP party who helped introduce the burka ban in France, said Britain was "losing the battle against Islamic extremism" and thus "opened the door to terrorism". » | Peter Allen in Paris | Sunday, April 10, 2011
