'Review mega-mosque in wake of bomb trial'

Shadow security minister Dame Pauline Neville-Jones said the case had shown that the group behind the mosque may have given cover to extremist activity.

Tablighi Jamaat, which describes itself an Islamic missionary organisation, is pushing for the mosque to be built next to the 2012 Olympics site in Stratford.

But the group was revealed in court as having links to some of the terror suspects, with several having passed through other mosques run by the group.

The organisation, which has 80 million followers worldwide, insists it is a peaceful, apolitical revivalist movement that promotes Islamic consciousness among individual Muslims.

But intelligence agencies have cautioned that its ability to radicalise young men could lead to jihadist terrorism.

The London Markaz, which some say will be the largest place of worship in Europe, has faced criticism of its backers and allegations of Saudi funding since it was first mooted three years ago.

The complex will include a three-storey Islamic centre able to hold at least 40,000 worshippers and up to 70,000 if necessary.

The plans will have to go before Newham council but Mayor Boris Johnson may have a say and, in theory, it could be called in by the Government.

Dame Pauline, former chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee, said today: "The news that the terrorists convicted of the liquid bomb plot attended Tablighi Jamaat mosques is very disturbing. This is not the first time this has happened. Those convicted of the 7/7 bombings read Tablighi Jamaat sermons. Tablighi Jamaat claims to be solely a missionary organisation with a religious and charitable purpose."

But Dame Pauline believes it gives cover to extremist activity. She said: "This must be taken into account when considering the planning application for the Tablighi-Jamaat mosque in east London." Kafeel Ahmed, who died from burns last year after trying to set off a car bomb at Glasgow airport, is among --terrorists whose radicalisation has been blamed on Tablighi Jamaat.

Mohammad Sidique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer, two of the 7/7 suicide bombers, attended the European headquarters of Tablighi Jamaat in Dewsbury, West Yorks, while Muktar Ibrahim, leader of the failed 21 July bomb plot in 2005, attended a Tablighi Jamaat mosque in east London. The group belongs to the ultra-conservative Deobandi branch of Sunni Islam, whose adherents run more than 600 of Britain's 1,350 mosques. Critics include the Muslim Educational Centre of Oxford. It claims the mosque will attract "religious fundamentalists and cultural supremacists".