Blair proposes ouster of radicals

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LONDON -- Prime Minister Tony Blair proposed strict anti-terror measures yesterday that would allow Britain to expel foreigners who preach hatred, to close extremist mosques and to bar entry to Muslim radicals.

"The rules of the game are changing" as a result of last month's bomb attacks, Mr. Blair said.

The proposals, which also target extremist Web sites and bookshops, are aimed primarily at excluding radical Islamic clerics accused of whipping up hatred and violence among vulnerable, disenfranchised Muslim men.

"We are angry. We are angry about extremism and about what they are doing to our country, angry about their abuse of our good nature," Mr. Blair said. "We welcome people here who share our values and our way of life. But don't meddle in extremism because if you meddle in it ... you are going back out again."

The July 7 suicide attacks on London's transit system and the failed July 21 attacks stunned Britons and raised new concerns about the freedoms Britain offers to individuals and groups known for extremist activities.

Mr. Blair said the focus of the anti-terror proposals was on foreigners because authorities think "the ideological drive and push is coming from the outside."

Some members of Britain's Muslim community, estimated at 1.6 million to 1.8 million, expressed concern that moderate Muslims would be subjected to new prejudices and restrictions.

But one prominent Muslim welcomed the move and said it was long overdue.

"Day after day these lunatics on our behalf ... are really messing up our lives here," Omar Farooq of the Islamic Society of Britain told the British Broadcasting Corp.

Britain has been criticized for trailing its European neighbors in responding to the growing threat of terrorism.