An Australian TV presenter has called for an end to Muslim immigration into her country, agreeing that “the more Muslims we import, the more danger we are in.”

Sonia Kruger, who hosts Channel Nine’s The Voice and Today Extra, was discussing last week’s terror attack in Nice when she said she agreed with a column by Andrew Bolt in the Herald Sun who argued that Muslim immigration into France led to an increased terror risk.

“Personally I think Andrew Bolt has a point here,” Ms Kruger said. “There is a correlation between the number of people in a country who are Muslim and the number of terrorist attacks.

The Guardian reports her as saying: “I have a lot of very good friends who are Muslim, who are peace-loving, who are beautiful people, but there are fanatics.

“Personally, I would like to see it stop now for Australia. I want to feel safe and I want to see freedom of speech.”

Her comments have provoked a furious backlash, but her employers at Channel Nine have released a statement defending her, citing freedom of speech.

“Nine’s view is that we believe in freedom of speech and the Mixed Grill segment on the Today show is a place where that happens. Sonia, [and the other presenters] David and Lisa each expressed a variety of opinions on the show this morning.”

Ms Kruger has now released a statement clarifying her views, but has refused to apologise.

“The discussion we had centred around a newspaper article which reverenced the correlation between the Muslim population of certain countries, and the number of subsequent terrorist attacks,” she said.

“I felt the article made some relevant points.”

She acknowledged that her views “may have been extreme”, but added: “It is a hugely complex issue with no simple answer, and it’s an issue that cannot be fully discussed in a short, televised segment.”

“Is there a solution? I don’t know. We elect politicians to make those calls.”