Posted on 07/22/2006 8:37:54 PM PDT by Lorianne
EXILED Islamic fanatic Omar Bakri Mohammed made an outrageous bid to flee bombed-out Beirut on a Royal Navy warship yesterday.
But the people of Britain told him to go to hell. The Muslim cleric who once preached hate-filled rants against the UK and praised the 9/11 atrocities as "magnificent" begged to be allowed aboard one of the vessels ferrying Britons to safety.
His plea, made only a few months after he quit Britain under pressure, fell on deaf ears. But Bakri still had the cheek to complain and wrote to embassy officials in Lebanon pleading to get back to the UK where he still has family.
Bakri, 48, was dubbed the Tottenham Ayatollah for his poisonous anti-British rants during a 20-year stay in north London. As leader of the radical group Al-Muhajiroun, he declared his organisation "the mouth, eyes and ears of Bin Laden" and called for former Prime Minister John Major to be killed.
Anjem Choudary, who ran Al-Muhajiroun with Bakri, said the cleric feared for his life in the wave of Israeli air strikes. He is also said to be terrified that Syria might move forces into Beirut as part of an escalation of the cross-border conflict.
Bakri was allowed asylum in England because Syria wanted to put him on trial for attempting to overthrow its government in the 1970s.
Last night Foreign Office officials said they had no knowledge of Bakri’s application.
But Choudary said: "He has made an application to the British Embassy to be brought out. He came back to Lebanon at a time when it was safe to be here and obviously that situation has changed.
"His family are in England and he wanted to return for a short time to make sure they are all right. He is very upset that it will not be possible.
"He tried to get on a boat today and was told that his leave to remain in Britain had been cancelled for the public good. What he plans to do now is write to the British authorities in Lebanon and see if they will give him a visa for a passage out."
Last night, the bare-faced cheek of the man who said he "would like to see the Islamic flag flying above 10 Downing Street" provoked a furious response.
Patrick Mercer, Tory homeland defence spokesman, said: "I would have thought that Mr Bakri wanted to stay and watch the war on terror at first hand.
"Here is the chance of a ring-side seat. But he is asking the Royal Navy to take him back home? I know where my sympathies lie and I suspect the rest of the British public would think exactly the same."
Andrew Rosindell, Conservative MP for Romford, added: "We don’t want this man back in the country at any price. He shouldn’t be given house room as far as I am concerned."
Bakri has been staying in Beirut since last summer when the Government moved to ban him in the aftermath of the July 7 bombings.
While he was in the Lebanese capital visiting family, Home Secretary Charles Clarke ruled he was "not conducive to the public good" and revoked his right to remain indefinitely in Britain.
Bakri had been here since 1985, when he was expelled from Saudi Arabia and was terrified of returning to Syria. During his 20-year stay, he set up home in Edmonton, north London, and spouted hatred of Britain and western values while claiming state hand-outs to the tune of £250,000 to feed his wife and children.
He is also believed to have influenced Omar Sharif, the British-born suicide bomber who killed three people when he exploded a device in a packed Tel Aviv bar.
After the July 7 bombings, Bakri declared that British people were to blame because they "did not make enough effort to stop their government committing atrocities in Iraq and Afghanistan".
He also said he would not report suicide bombers to the police. But his Lebanese-born wife and seven children enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle courtesy of the British public, raking in £300 per week in unemployment, child and disability benefit.
Last night, as hundreds more Britons were heading for Cyprus aboard HMS Bulwark, HMS Illustrious, and HMS York, Bakri could not be contacted for comment.
He had been living in hiding in Lebanon, fearing both the Israeli bombings and Syrian government sympathisers living in Beirut.
A Foreign Office spokesman said last night: "We are looking into these claims at the moment. We know he did not appear in person at the embassy or contact staff by telephone.
"We do not know if a written application has been sent. We are not aware of any visa application having been submitted."
IOW, "Kiss me arse, Bakri."
He's got 'bout as much glass up front as an old AMC Pacer.
and double Guud on HM's and the Peeps Rep..the crew of HMS "Whomever"
Good On Ya....
Folks like that on the bridge and Brittania will continue to Rule...one crew at a time...
Even if at the lesson of a junior service...USN...and just the few Marines to keep all in order.. :-)
Why not? They need to start expelling these "individuals" right and left in England. If the Brits hope to keep their country in the long term, these radicals need to go, and they need to go now.
I'd like to hear that he " exploded ", like a Pinto.
Karma?
or Justice?
Damn! I need to move to Britain, change my name to "Mohommad" and screech about the evils of Western Civilization. Seems to be quite a lucrative occupation!
I like the way you think.
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