False link

Sir

We were dismayed to see your front-page story (Dozens of al-Qaida-linked Extremists in UK, September 4). Agents of M15 have been revealed to be planting stories in the media about some British Muslims being allegedly linked to al-Qaida so that they can later use these same stories as evidence when they want to detain these figures.

This kind of underhand behaviour should not be given any support. You say 36 Muslims under surveillance were "al-Qaida linked Islamist extremists". There is no evidence to justify describing them in this way. On this basis, there must be thousands of Jewish extremists living in Britain on account of their support for the policies of Ariel Sharon.

Inayat Bunglawala

Muslim Council of Britain.