Britain is a 'police state for Muslims'

One of the nine men arrested under anti-terror laws has described Britain as a "police state for Muslims".

Abu Bakr, one of two suspects released early yesterday by West Midlands Police, said he was "taken aback" when he learned of the alleged plot to behead a Muslim soldier.

As the Government launched a fresh attempt to combat the growth of Islamic extremism, tensions were said to be running high in parts of Birmingham.

"It's a police state for Muslims," Mr Bakr told the BBC. " It's not a police state for everyone else, because these terror laws are designed specifically for Muslims," he said.

"That's quite an open fact because the people who have been arrested under terrorism laws, the groups that have been banned under the terrorism laws, the people that have been affected by terrorism legislation, have been Muslims.

"So we are feeling the brunt of it all. We are the ones that are being locked up, detained, and then told to go back to our lives."

* A man was last night charged with terrorism-related offences, police said. The man, 21, believed to be of no fixed address, was arrested in south Staffordshire last Friday. He will appear in the City of London Magistrates Court today.