Anjem Choudary is planning an extremist march through Wootton Bassett

The twisted cleric provoked outrage by comparing British troops to Nazi stormtroopers and telling parents of dead soldiers that their children had died in vain. Politicians and bereaved families were joined by moderate Muslims in condemning the radical’s plans for a march of Islamic extremists through Wootton Bassett, Wilts. Almost a quarter of a million people have signed an online petition objecting to the march through the town famous for honouring UK soldiers killed in Afghanistan. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the protest march would be “completely inappropriate”. Home Secretary Alan Johnson said he would have “no hesitation” in supporting a ban if requested by police or the council. “The idea that anyone would stage this kind of demonstration in Wootton Bassett fills me with revulsion,” he said.

Choudary’s plan emerged as British forces suffered their first loss this year. A soldier, from the 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment, died while on foot patrol in Helmand Province on Sunday. Muslim organisations fear Choudary is trying to wreck racial and religious harmony in Britain so he can recruit youngsters to militant Islam. Counter-terrorism think-tank the Quilliam Foundation said: “Anjem Choudary’s plan to march through Wootton Bassett is a disgusting and transparent attempt to divide the UK’s communities.” Shahid Mursaleen, of Minhaj-ul- Quran International UK, said: “The Government must ensure that the law-abiding British Muslim youth do not fall prey to such extremists.” In remarks designed to cause maximum offence, Choudary compared fallen British heroes to Nazis and said 500 of his radical group Islam4UK would carry symbolic coffins in memory of the Muslim civilians “murdered by merciless” coalition forces.

Choudary, a former lawyer who rakes in more than £25,000 a year in welfare handouts, admitted his march was a publicity stunt, saying: “The sad reality of the situation is that if I were to hold it somewhere else it would not have the media attention that it has now.” Soldiers’ families expressed horror that Choudary, 42, was “hijacking” Wootton Bassett for political purposes. Becky Ormrod, wife of Royal Marine Mark Ormrod, who lost three limbs fighting the Taliban, said Islam4UK should be banned along with the march. She said: “To even consider it is beyond human decency. It’s like spitting on the graves of our fallen heroes.” Tracy Leslie, whose son James Brown, 18, died saving innocent Afghans after he stopped a suicide bomb attack, said: “No matter what your faith is we should respect each other.” The repatriation of two more soldiers killed in Afghanistan will take place today.