David Cameron has hit out at criticism of a letter sent to Muslim leaders by Eric Pickles in the wake of the Paris attacks, saying anyone opposing it “really has a problem”.

The Muslim Council of Britain compared the government to the far-right with its wording of the message, which claimed mosques had to work harder to stop radicalisation and ensure young people were not susceptible to recruitment by al-Qaeda and Isis.

But the Prime Minister said the letter, sent by the Communities Secretary and Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon was “reasonable, sensible and moderate”.

“It is absolutely right to write this letter, to say that we all have a responsibility to fight extremism,” he said this morning at an event in Ipswich.

"Anyone who reads this letter - and I've read the letter - will see that what he is saying is that British Muslims make a great contribution to our country, that what is happening in terms of extremist terror has nothing to do with the true religion of Islam. It's being perverted by a minority who have been radicalised.

“But everyone needs to help with dealing with this problem of radicalisation.”

The letter was sent to 1,000 Muslim leaders after the attack on Charlie Hebdo by extremists in France.

"You, as faith leaders, are in a unique position in our society. You have a precious opportunity, and an important responsibility: in explaining and demonstrating how faith in Islam can be part of British identity," it read.

"We must show our young people, who may be targeted, that extremists have nothing to offer them...show them these men of hate have no place in our mosques or any place of worship."

Deputy secretary-general Harun Khan of the Muslim Council of Britain said: “We will be writing to Mr Eric Pickles to ask that he clarifies his request to Muslims to ‘explain and demonstrate how faith in Islam can be part of British identity’.

The letter sent by Mr Pickles, co-signed by Conservative Muslim peer Lord Ahmad, said both men were “proud” of the way British Muslims had responded to the Paris attacks but added that there was 'more work to do' (Reuters) (Getty)

“Is Mr Pickles seriously suggesting, as do members of the far right, that Muslims and Islam are inherently apart from British society?”

Another part of the letter said that “British values are Muslim values”, adding that Islam’s “message of peace and unity” makes the country better and stronger.

Mr Cameron said: "Anyone, frankly, reading this letter, who has a problem with it, I think really has a problem. I think it is the most reasonable, sensible, moderate letter that Eric could possibly have written.

“Frankly, all of us have a responsibility to try to confront this radicalisation and make sure that we stop young people being drawn into this poisonous fanatical death cult that a very small minority of people have created.”

In pictures: Cities across the world light up landmarks in show of unity with France Show all 8 1 /8 In pictures: Cities across the world light up landmarks in show of unity with France In pictures: Cities across the world light up landmarks in show of unity with France New York, USA The Empire State Building is lit up in the colors of the French flag to pay tribute to the victims of the shooting by gunmen at the Paris offices of weekly satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, in the Manhattan borough of New York In pictures: Cities across the world light up landmarks in show of unity with France London, UK The colours of the French national flag are reflected in the fountains of Trafalgar Square as they are projected in tribute to the Paris terror attacks, on the The National Gallery in London In pictures: Cities across the world light up landmarks in show of unity with France London, UK Tower Bridge is illuminated with the colours of the French Tricolore flag, in support of the victims of recent terrorist attacks in France In pictures: Cities across the world light up landmarks in show of unity with France London, UK The London Eye is alternately lit in the colours of the French national flag in tribute to the 17 people killed in the Paris terror attacks, in London In pictures: Cities across the world light up landmarks in show of unity with France Rome, Italy Rome's city hall (Campidoglio) is lighted with France's colors, blue, white and red in Rome in remembrance of the victims of an attack against Charlie Hebdo satirical weekly which killed 12 people in Paris In pictures: Cities across the world light up landmarks in show of unity with France Berlin, Germany The writing on the facade of the French embassy reads 'Je suis Charlie!' (I am Charlie!) to commemorate the victims of the terrorist attack on French satire magazine 'Charlie Hebdo', during a vigil at the French embassy in Berlin In pictures: Cities across the world light up landmarks in show of unity with France Paris, France A sign on the Arc de Triomphe reads "Paris is Charlie" in solidarity with the victims of the shooting at the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris In pictures: Cities across the world light up landmarks in show of unity with France Paris, France As a tribute for the victims of terrorist attack the lights of the Eiffel Tower were turned off for five minutes at 8pm local time, the day after the massacre in Paris

Lord Ahmed, who co-signed the letter, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that he was “disappointed” with the Muslim Council of Britain’s response.

He and Mr Pickles assured the leaders that they had been in touch with police “to make sure they are providing the support that mosques need, a concern that some of you have expressed in our recent discussions”.

Anti-Islamophobia group Tell Mama has recorded a spike in anti-Muslim incidents since the Paris attack, including death threats, hate mail and drawings of the Prophet Mohamed being sent to London mosques.

Fiyaz Mughal, director of the group, praised Mr Pickles for "recognising that extremism requires a multitude of voices to challenge" it, but said that the internet, not mosques, is where recruitment often happens.

"Many Muslims up and down the country demonstrate the positives of their faith - be it handing out flowers of peace in places like Trafalgar Square or assisting the needy at food banks - we know the positives are out there but more is needed to highlight these altruistic and Islamic-inspired values," he added.