UK to start publicly 'naming' extremists banned from entering country

London, Oct 27 : The British government is expected to announce plans this week about naming in public those extremists who would be banned from entering the country. Till now, the names were kept secrets, and it came to public domain only after they themselves spoke against the decision.

A Home Office official said that the move was planned in public interest. "These measures are aimed at preventing anyone who will stir up tensions in the UK from entering the country. We have not named them in the past but now, when it was in the public interest, we will. They will also be placed on international watch lists which tell other countries that they have been banned and why they were not allowed in. Coming to the UK is a privilege. We don't want people abusing that by stirring up tensions," The Telegraph the unidentified official as saying.

During the past three years, a total of 230 people had been barred from entering the country because of their extreme views, but they are not currently named publicly.

The bans on high profile figures, including radical Isalmist cleric Omar Bakri Mohammed and Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrkhan, only became known after the individuals themselves spoke out against the decisions.

Omar Bakri Mohammed was banned from the UK in the wake of the 7/7 terror attacks in London in 2005.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith is expected to announce new measures this week aimed at preventing anybody who stirs up religious or racial hatred from entering the UK. The new rules will allow the Home Office to ban Islamic extremists, neo-Nazis and even animal rights activists. And, those who are named will also be put on international "watch lists", reported The Telegraph.

Once the decision is taken, the Home Office is expected to issue quarterly figures on exclusions and name some of those who are banned.

ANI