Blair says people of all faiths comfortable in UK

LONDON, Feb 9 (Reuters) People of all faiths are ''comfortable'' living in Britain, Prime Minister Tony Blair said in comments released today, contradicting some Muslims who argue they are under police siege because of terrorism laws.

Blair, in a podcast posted on his office's website www.pm.gov.uk, said different faiths were bound together by shared British values in the same way that Americans felt pride in their flag or anthem.

''I think we have got something of the same spirit in Britain today, and I think that is a good thing, and it means that people are very comfortable, whether they are Christian, Jew, Muslim, Hindu, whatever their religious faith,'' Blair said in an interview with comedian, actor and author Stephen Fry.

His comments come amid a heated debate over whether Muslims are being unfairly targeted by anti-terrorism police.

Abu Bakr, arrested last month in relation to a suspected plot to kill a Muslim British soldier and released without charge this week, said Britain was a police state for Muslims.

Anjem Choudary, a radical Muslim leader, said police were conducting a witch hunt against Muslims.

Choudary was speaking after yesterday's arrest by anti-terrorism police of one of Britain's most controversial Muslim figures, Abu Izzadeen.

Izzadeen was watched by millions on television last year heckling Home Secretary John Reid at a public meeting.

Blair noted in his interview that he took a tougher stance on law and order than previous generations of his Labour Party.

''I would be very liberal on, say, gay rights, you know the equality agenda ... but probably less liberal than a previous Labour generation would have been on law and order issues, or antisocial behaviour, you know, people who commit violent crime and so on,'' he said.

''A sort of pro-gay-rights, tough-on-law-and-order position.'' The prime minister, who is set to step down this year after a decade in office, said he did mind that people disliked him for some of the decisions he had taken, but that he had grown used to it over the years.

He also said he had not given any thought to what he would do once he resigns, although he admitted he would have to immerse himself in technology given his self-confessed inexperience using computers and gadgets.

''The trouble is, when you are doing the job you are so much in it, you know you don't have time really to think ahead, but as the time approaches I will have to, so I will,'' he said.

Asked whether he had thought of resurrecting his student band ''Ugly Rumours'', he said: ''I think that would be very bad news for music in general and popular music in particular''.

REUTERS DKS BST0625