Remarkable how similar the racist thuggery of Abu Hamza and the fascist Nick Griffin. But how dissimilar is the treatment of the two. Whatever the game played by British security over the last ten years the public perception of the cat and mouse style operation of the law as applied to Hamza will be one of inconsistency and incompetence. The wishes and warnings of moderate Muslims in Finsbury Park were ignored, undermining the mutual respect and tolerance in a diverse society that the government claims is its goal. To add insult to injury the Mosk itself was raided by Police; either a deliberate provocation or the most unforgivable ineptitude. Probably the most incompetent of all was to allow Hamza previously to keep the documents now contributing to his conviction - surely a gift for his appeal lawyer.

On the other hand the Police have never raided any BNP premises. When I joined the march on their headquarters in south east London some years ago the police defended it, despite its role as a distribution point for literature designed to promote racial violence. The very existence of the BNP flies in the face of the law yet it is allowed to operate freely. This has nothing to do with freedom of speech. The government saw no problem with banning Sinn Fein from speaking on British TV. It is about appeasing the right wing and the racists because the government has no political commitment to taking these arguments head on. Instead of educating people about the causes of poverty, unemployment and poor health - and doing something about it - they prefer to tread a dangerous path between agreeing that immigrants are a problem and promoting an inclusive, diverse, tolerant society.

While the Labour Party press the flesh of British Muslims, around the world fundamentalists are recruiting on the slogan "Britain persecutes Muslims and protects Nazis"