Muslim fanatics burn poppy

The hate-filled extremists screamed “British troops are murderers” and “There will be no security for Britain while troops remain in Muslim land”.

Calling themselves “Muslims against Crusaders”, they clashed with police while 50 members of the English Defence League staged a counter-protest near the Royal Albert Hall in central London.

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Police kept the two sides apart, but as the two- minute silence started one Muslim yelled out, “British soldiers go to hell”. One of the group held up the poppy, set it alight and threw the burning symbol of remembrance to the ground, while  others, some masked, chanted “British soldiers burn in hell” in front of horrified onlookers.

Three men were arrested at the scene – two for public order offences and one for assaulting a police officer. One officer was taken to hospital with a head injury.

Onlookers were appalled by the ultimate insult to the war dead and soldiers still risking their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. One said: “It was a disgrace to be burning poppies on Remembrance Day. It should be a crime to chant things like that. Those people are despicable.” Another said: “It was outrageous.”

And parents of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan later branded the grotesque protest as “atrocious”.

Christine Bonner, whose son Darren was killed by a landmine in Helmand province in 2007, said she could not believe the incident.

“I’m disgusted. There are people like myself that at 11am today were remembering the lives of our children, and then there are some people doing something so hurtful as that. I think it’s atrocious.

“We’re talking about individuals who have died for their country.”

Tony Philippson’s son James was the first British soldier to be killed in action in the Nato operation in Helmand province. He said: “I don’t see the logic of it. Why could they think that soldiers of any nationality shouldn’t be remembered?

“My son went to Iraq with the Marines fighting for Muslims to get rid of a tyrant so they could have some freedom.”

The Conservative MP for Shipley, Philip Davies, said: “These protesters should be ashamed of themselves. People will be sickened. The lack of respect for people who have given up their lives for freedom is appalling.”

Labour MP Khalid Mahmood, of Birmingham Perry Bar, said: “It’s just absolute nonsense. These people have no regard or respect for the people who are prepared to give their lives for the country, and if they don’t like it they can hop it and leave. They have these rights to protest that are afforded to them because people have given their lives up for those rights.

“To have these people behave like this is absolutely ridiculous. It’s complete nonsense and despicable.”

A spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain said: “While these are a handful of people claiming to speak on behalf of Muslims, many more Muslims will join fellow Britons in remembering the sacrifice of our Armed Forces.” During the incident the protesters held banners which read “Islam will dominate” and “Our dead are in paradise, your dead are in hell”.

Asad Ullah, of Muslims Against Crusades, said: “We find it disgusting that innocent people, innocent children, have been killed in an illegal and unjust war and we are demonstrating against that.

“We want the Government to pull the troops out from these countries and to stop interfering in our affairs.”

He added: “I have no respect for the silence as it represents the murder of millions of Muslims. By burning the poppy we wanted to upset people and we wanted them to hurt. If you hurt for two minutes you can understand the hurt we feel every day for our murdered Muslim brothers and sisters.”

Muslims Against Crusaders organiser Abu Rayah, from east London, said: “British soldiers are mass murderers and your politicians are oppressors. By wearing poppies, you condone mass murderers. This protest was for thousands of Muslims killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.”