The Muslim Council of Britain views with great concern the press statement issued by the Police linking the auspicious day of Eid with a possible terror attack in the UK.

The Festival of Sacrifice was commemorated by Muslims all over the UK and throughout the world as a great day of rejoicing and celebration.

"While we are in no position to question police intelligence about terror, we sincerely hope that it turns out to be a false alarm", the MCB Secretary General, Iqbal Sacranie commented. Furthermore, he stated "we find it quite intriguing that anyone would wait for the festival of Eid to commit a terrorist attack because the festival had already started and was about to end. This seems to be a very irresponsible spin on a problem which concerns everybody. One does not believe that our intelligence sources would have overheard someone saying, "Let's go, Eid has come". We therefore want the Police Press Officers to exercise due care and common sense in their briefing about terrorism or terrorist threats. The message of Eid-ul-Adha is supposed to be one of unity and security, underlining the dignity of mankind."

The MCB have expressed their serious concerns directly to both the Home Office and the Metropolitan Police regarding the manner in which the press statement has been issued and its wording.