The British police were under pressure yesterday to clear up the confusion over last week's massive anti-terror raid or risk seeing angry Muslims "take the law into their own hands," a Muslim community leader warned.
The Muslim Council of Britain's new leader Muhammed Abdul Bari said "trust could break down" if the police failed to explain why they launched last Friday's raid, which has turned up nothing of a reported chemical weapons plot.
Relaying the sentiment that he heard during a visit late on Monday to the east London neighborhood which was raided, Abdul Bari said "the message is the confusion, it's the frustration and to some extent anger."
Police arrested Mohammed Abdul Kahar, 23, and his brother Abul Koyair, 20, during the raid on their home at dawn by 250 officers. Abdul Kahar, who was shot and wounded, and Koyair have denied involvement in terrorism.
"People want to know what exactly happened and about the intelligence -- is it genuine information, is it flawed -- these are the questions police have to answer as soon as possible," Abdul Bari said.
"Trust could break down if things are not clarified," he said.
"Angry people can do anything, angry people can even feel that they should take the law into their own hands, so anger has to be directed into positive action," he warned.
The Metropolitan Police's assistant commissioner Andy Hayman said police had "no choice" but to launch the raid as they worried about public safety after receiving specific intelligence of a terrorist plot.
But Hayman, who declined to comment on reports by security sources that they were looking for chemical or biological weapons, admitted that "we have not found what we went in there to look for."
A number of newspapers seized on Hayman's admission, saying doubts about the London police are growing.
Police have already endured almost a year of harsh criticism, including accusations of a cover-up, since armed officers shot dead an unarmed Brazilian man on a subway train in the mistaken belief he was a suicide bomber.
The Independent said the high-profile swoop had led to fears among local people about being branded extremists and many Muslim families were now considering leaving Britain.
The Times ran a letter from a Yusuf Patel who said he lived in the Forest Gate area where the raid happened.
"Most people I have spoken to believe that these raids are designed to create fear within the Muslim community. If that is the case, it is working," he said, warning of the risk of alienating local Muslims.
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