§ Dr. Julian LewisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the level of support for Muslim fundamentalism within the United Kingdom. [16409]
§ Angela EagleThe total Muslim population in the United Kingdom is estimated to be between one and one and a half million. The number of people supporting what might be described as a "Muslim fundamentalist" view is impossible to assess, as it will depend on precisely how the term is interpreted. But support within the Muslim community for what might be regarded as extreme Islamist views is commonly judged to be small.
§ Dr. Julian LewisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment his Department has made of the continuing threat of Muslim fundamentalist terrorism in Britain after the destruction of the bin Laden organisation in Afghanistan. [17029]
§ Mr. BlunkettThere have been a number of public threats made by bin Laden and his supporters against Western interests since 11 September.
While we do not comment on intelligence, we believe the overall level of threat to the United Kingdom has remained at the heightened level identified immediately post 11 September. We believe that attacks against the United States remain bin Laden's priority. We do of course keep these issues under review.