Britain is greater terror threat to US: Experts

London, Aug 30: Britain is a greater terror threat to the US than Iraq, Iran or Afghanistan, leading experts on Islamic extremism have warned.

The allegations came amid growing concerns in Washington about what has been dubbed "Londonisation" is a breeding ground for Islamic extremism. The foreign office, however, dismissed the claim as "ludicrous".

The experts made a pressing demand to urgently review the system that allows UK paassport holders, especially Pakistanis, to travel freely across the Atlantic and prompted suggestions in this regard last night.

An article in the New Republic magazine details how this summer's terror alert has left a question mark in the US over the trustworthiness of young Asians in Britain who trace their roots back to Pakistan and in particular Kashmir.

The US administration and its supporters are also worried about the fact that the so-called moderate British Muslims are using the terror alerts to call for a change in British foreign policy.

"Indeed, in the wake of this month's high-profile arrests, it can now be argued that the biggest threat to US security emanates not from Iran or Iraq or Afghanistan but rather from Britain, our closest ally," the article, headlined "Kashmir on Thames" says.

It also says that upto 400,000 British Pakistanis travel back to the country every year, and that many of them have links with Kashmir, which has been the target of a violent militant movement.

After such revelations, it is feared that the visa waiver programme, which allows four million Britons every year to enter the US without having to apply for a visa beforehand, could be at stake.

"The danger to the US of the nexus between British Pakistanis, al-Qaeda and Kashmir is becoming clear, of more concern...is the likelihood that British Pakistanis will continue to target the Americans, both in the US and abroad," the authors of the article Mr Peter Bergen and Mr Paul Cruikshank said, who are also well-established experts on Islamic extremism.

UNI