'Extremist' British Muslim kicked off U.S. flight

Kamal Helbawy, 67, a founding member of the Muslim Association of Britain, was told by airline staff he was barred from flying to New York shortly before the plane was due to leave London Heathrow.

Egyptian-born Mr Helbawy has previously been criticised for his links to the increasingly radical World Assembly of Muslim Youth - which he co-founded several decades ago.

He has denied that it is extreme and says he severed connections with it 20 years ago.

On Thursday morning, he attempted to catch a flight for New York where he was due to speak at a conference.

Karen Greenberg, a conference spokeswoman, said Mr Helbawy did not know why he had been stopped from travelling to the United States.

'What they told him was that basically he would have to go to the American Embassy first before he could come here,' she said.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security in the USA said: 'The individual was inadmissible to enter the U.S. I can't speak specifically to this case as to why he was inadmissible.'

'The U.S. government's action in this case should not be construed as a blanket U.S. policy against Muslim religious leaders. Indeed hundreds of imams from all over the world have visited and continue to visit the United States,'

She added that more than 1,000 people are denied entry to the United States every day.

Travellers can be denied entry for several reasons including improper travel documents, smuggling of contraband, criminal activity or history, immigration violations and watch list match or national security concerns.'

Mr Helbawy, who runs a care home in North West London, is a leading Muslim academic and a regular contributor to public debates on terrorism.

He has proposed setting up 'treatment centres' to 'cure' those who have been radicalised or brainwashed.

Since the August discovery of the alleged 'liquid bomb' plot to attack transatlantic airliners, there has been fierce controversy over the alleged targeting of Muslims at airport security checkpoints.

On one occasion, a planeful of passengers staged a mutiny before two Muslim travellers were taken off their Manchester-bound plane.

Some police leaders have called for tolerance and claimed there is a danger of creating an offence of 'travelling while Asian'.