No 10 Site in Mosque Petition Row

July 17, 2007

Author: Staff Writer

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6902367.stm

More than 255,000 people have signed a petition on the Downing Street website against any plans to build Britain's biggest mosque in East London.

The petition, currently the most popular on the No 10 site, calls for the "mega mosque" to be scrapped as it will "cause terrible violence".

But London mayor Ken Livingstone said it was part of a "vicious" campaign to spread untruths about the scheme.

No 10 is expected to respond when the petition closes on Wednesday.

It has resisted calls to remove the petition from its site, amid claims racist language had to be removed from the list of signatories.

The row centres on plans by Tablighi Jamaat to build a 12,000 capacity mosque on land in West Ham.

Downing Street has said any planning decision will be down to the local authority but Newham Council is not expecting to receive a planning application for a mosque "in the near future".