http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4§ion=0&article=69180&d=29&m=8&y=2005LONDON, 29 August 2005 — The war to oust Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein continues to haunt British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has consistently denied any link between the war and the rise of extremism among British Muslims.
Yesterday it emerged that London was warned more than a year ago before the July 7 suicide bombings that killed 56 people, that the war made Britain a target for extremists, who now regard Britain, along with the United States, as a “crusader state”.
The weekly Observer published a leaked letter from the Foreign Office’s permanent secretary Michael Jay to Cabinet secretary Andrew Turnbull, who provides administrative support to Blair, dated May 18, 2004.
The letter said British foreign policy was a “recurring theme” in Britain’s Muslim community, “especially in the context of the Middle East peace process and Iraq.